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Corny jokes and songs pop in 'Shucked' as the musical makes a stop at MSU's Wharton Center

Actors on stage during a production of Shucked
Courtesy
/
Matthew Murphy
Shucked opens at the MSU Wharton Center on January 21.

The Tony Award-nominated musical Shucked is part of the Wharton Center's Broadway schedule.

The Broadway musical Shucked comes to East Lansing next week for eight performances, and there will be one mid-Michigan native helping make the show happen behind the scenes.

Cornball humor is Shucked's main selling point. It might remind you of the old TV variety series Hee Haw.

The show was nominated for a Tony Award as Best Musical on Broadway. Soon after closing a year ago, a 30-city tour was announced, and Michigan State University's Wharton Center was included.

Running things backstage on the tour is production stage manager Alan D. Knight. He does everything from assigning dressing rooms to working with understudies.

Knight is a 2008 graduate of St. Johns High School who earned a degree in stage management from Western Michigan University. He joined his first national tour in 2012.

Shucked is the tenth production he's worked on. Knight says he’s been on several tours that have made stops at the Wharton Center, a venue that’s been a big part of his life.

“It holds a special place in my heart because that’s where I saw my first Broadway tour as a kid,” he explained.

“I saw The Lion King there, and that kind of lit up my love for theatre and the arts and touring shows. I went and saw many shows growing up at the Wharton Center. That’s where it kind of all started.”

Knight says he tries to keep an eye on shows that might launch national tours he could work on down the road. When Shucked was on Broadway, he snuck away from Philadelphia where he was on tour with another show to see it.

He was impressed by not just the show’s goofy humor but also the production’s compassionate message.

“It’s just so funny, and it’s two and a half hours in the theatre where you just forget about everything else, and you just laugh and have fun, and it has a lot of heart to it, and I think that’s what surprises people.”

Knight loves life on the road. He spends 40 or even 50 weeks a year with Broadway touring companies. A tour stop like East Lansing gives him a chance to see people and get some things done back home.

“I don’t get back to Michigan a whole lot, so it is nice to catch up with those friends and maybe grab coffee," he said.

That makes for a busy week, but Alan D. Knight wouldn’t have it any other way.

Shucked runs Tuesday, January 21 through Sunday, January 26 at MSU’s Wharton Center.

The Wharton Center is a financial supporter of WKAR.

Scott Pohl has maintained an on-call schedule reporting for WKAR following his retirement after 36 years on the air at the station.
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