A conversation with Danielle Wade, lead actress of ‘Shucked’

The “corn-centric” musical will play at the Morrison Center from Oct. 21 through Oct. 26

Broadway’s corniest musical has made its way to Boise. 

Tony award-winning musical “Shucked” follows the small town of Cob County and its residents as their beloved corn stops growing. Maizy, the main character, leaves the safety of the town (and her fiance) behind to go look for help, resulting in 2 hours and 15 minutes of hilarious chaos. 

Danielle Wade will play Maizy as the production travels to Boise. Wade got her start playing Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz” on its U.S. Tour in 2013 and has been acting since. 

You’ve played some iconic roles in your career –- Dorothy Gale in “The Wizard of Oz” and Cady Heron in “Mean Girls”.  What did you learn from these early roles that you’re still using now on tour?

They are such iconic characters — everyone knows Judy Garland and Lindsay Lohan played those parts. You learn to bring yourself into each role that you play, because that’s exactly what they did. It’s tricky because everyone expects you to sound like Judy or look like Lindsay and you don’t, so you have to bring yourself into it as much as you can.

In comparison, Maizy in “Shucked” is a newer role that people aren’t as familiar with. How is your approach to playing Maizy different from those iconic characters?

It is kind of the same thing, I still just bring myself. Caroline Innerbichler, who originated the role on Broadway, was one of my favorite parts of the show. She was so funny and charming and she really led the show so well. My approach is the same, it’s just that less people happen to know her.

When you were cast as Maizy, what inspiration did you take from Innerbichler’s performance?

I saw the first preview on Broadway with my agent, and we both turned to each other at intermission and said, ‘I have to play this part’. Not that I thought I could do it better in any way, I was just like, ‘Oh, this woman is hilarious. She’s ridiculous. She’s making crazy choices’. How fun that I get to be a weird, flying-by-the-seat-of-your-pants, heart-on-your-sleeve kind of character. Especially as a female lead — when you get to be a mess, it’s so fun. 

How do you balance the show’s outrageous comedic elements with the emotional heart of your character’s journey?

One thing our director, Jack O’Brien, says all the time is, ‘The show is funny — you aren’t’. A lot of times, the best way is to just focus on the heart of the show and the message of [kindness]. Just say the words the way you mean them, and hopefully someone hears them the way they need to hear them.

Do you feel like different audiences react to the show differently?

Absolutely. It’s like a new show every week, because every city has a different sense of humor. Every place we go, everyone laughs a little bit differently, or laughs at different things. 

Do you have any examples of memorable audience reactions?

Oh my gosh, there’s been so many. It’s a show that encourages audible reactions, for sure. One time, the character I play is making some questionable choices halfway through the show, and somebody just yelled, “Oh my god, get it together!’. I was cackling on stage. You can’t laugh, obviously, but I was out there giggling away because at least I’m doing a good job. 

How do reactions like that make you feel?

It was so funny, and it’s fun because it’s a silly show that doesn’t need to take itself very seriously, which we love. This might sound like a bit of a brag, but almost every usher in each theater has been like, ‘This is my favorite show of the season. This is funny,’ which is so cool, because they see so many shows. They’re at every single one. 

Maizy goes on a very personal journey through the show, leaving her hometown and facing the unknown. Without giving any spoilers, what part of that journey do you identify with most personally?

I’m not acting as hard as people think. Maizy is very much just me. I’m from a tiny little town, and I’m originally Canadian, so even just living in the States is a big adventure for me. My favorite thing about Maizy is that she’s braver than she knows she is. I think that is something I’m trying to do in my life as well.

What are some of the joys and hardships of life on the road for you?

Oh my gosh. You never know where anything is in the grocery store. That’s a big one. But you really do develop this little family, and Cob County itself, where the show is set, is a little family, so it’s kind of built in already, which is so nice. We’re all really good friends, which isn’t always the case. That’s very special. 

Do you have any routines to help you connect to each new city and new audience?

We all try to take adventures in each place. In each city, we find out what you should see or what you should do while you’re there. The eating one is a big one. Everyone’s eating all the time. One of our swings makes a PowerPoint for every city. She sends it to everybody before we get there, which I think is so funny. She says, ‘Here’s what you need to know about Boise’.

Speaking of Boise, if you could invite Boise audiences into just one moment of the show and say ‘Watch this one moment, because it matters to me’, what would that be?

That’s a great question — maybe the end of the show? That might be an easy answer, but every person is on stage. There’s things to overcome, but also things to accept. The general message of being kind to everyone is a big part of the show, especially at the end. Either that, or the opening number, because that really sets you up to be like ‘What the heck is this musical about?’

Is there anything else your fans or the Boise audiences might not know, but should?

The best part of the show is that if you don’t know what it’s about, you really get to just enjoy it for two hours. Don’t be afraid and think, ‘What the heck is this corn musical?’ Just go see the corn musical. You might laugh for two hours and then maybe shed a tear or two by the end. It’s not a waste of your time, I promise.