Ahead of the musical’s national tour stop at Nashville’s Tennessee Performing Arts Center, “Shucked” songwriters Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally; producer Mike Bosner; and Robert Horn, who wrote the musical’s book, discussed its creation and success. Hosted by the Museum’s Angela Stefano Zimmer, this program was recorded on November 3, 2024, and offered in support of the exhibition “American Currents: State of the Music” for 2023, which included both video footage and artifacts from “Shucked.”

After Clark and McAnally discuss meeting in Nashville, becoming friends, and writing award-winning country songs together, the panelists share how they became involved with a different musical, “Moonshine: That Hee Haw Musical,” and how the political and social changes of 2016 made them reevaluate it and morph the idea into “Shucked.” Horn explains his love for the country variety television series “Hee Haw,” and Bosner describes the journey of “Shucked” through the COVID-19 pandemic to its opening on Broadway. Before the program’s end, Clark and McAnally perform “Friends” from the musical, and the panelists all answer questions from the audience.

While the musical “Shucked” tells an original story about the residents of Cob County seeking help when their prized corn crop mysteriously starts dying, it has its roots in “Hee Haw,” which Clark, Horn, and McAnally helped adapt into “Moonshine: That Hee Haw Musical.” “Shucked” opened in Salt Lake City in late 2022, moved to Broadway in early 2023, and began a national tour in 2024. The musical and its cast and crew earned nine Tony Awards nominations, and actor Alex Newell, who played Lulu on Broadway, won Best Featured Actor in a Musical. “Shucked” also earned twelve Drama Desk Awards nominations and won two: Clark and McAnally, who wrote the musical’s lyrics and music, won Outstanding Music, and Newell won Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical.

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