Broadway Access Review -
Shucked

Find my other reviews & learn about my reviews here

 
 

General Note

This is a review of the accessibility of the theater, of the lighting/sound/scent design of the show, and a list of content warnings as a way to prep folks with various needs before they go see it. 

This is not meant to scare anyone away from seeing the show. Most productions have about the same amount of content warnings and sensory warnings to go along with it, they’re just rarely explicitly written down. 

For some people, knowing these things ahead of time makes it easier to enjoy the show because they know what to expect. And, often, makes those people more likely to see it in the first place. I hope that it’s helpful! 

I am also happy to clarify any specifics, just send me a message or an email and I will respond when I can.

Theater

Nederlander Theatre

All comments on the accessibility of lighting are in reference to seats on the far left side of the orchestra. Lighting is usually more accessible from the center and/or mezzanine.

Bathrooms:

  • no explicitly gender neutral options

  • located up the central staircase (above the orchestra) and there is one non-gendered accessible restroom on the far left of the orchestra

  • the stalls have really clear red/green vacancy labels

Other theater accessibility:

  • there is no elevator, though street to orch is step-free

  • they have several accessible seats, as well as an accessible bar 

  • with advanced notice, they can supply captioning, audio description, and assistive listening options

Click here for more information on the physical accessibility of this theater.

Light/Sound/Scent

General:

  • The theater signals that the show is about to start (pre-show and during intermission) by briefly dimming and bringing up the house lights a few times

  • If you’re sitting on far orchestra left or far right, the down/side lights on the stage may be somewhat shining in your face

  • I was personally fine without earplugs/ear defenders for this show while in the 8th row

Act I:

  • Travelin’ Song/Bad - neon lights come on that say “TAMPA” and occasionally switch between colors during the songs, sometimes rapidly

  • Woman of the World - there’s a spotlight that quickly flashes on/off on Maizy 2x during the number

  • Corn (reprise) - some moving lights, though they are pointed down so they feel less flashy

Act II:

  • Best Man Wins - moving lights after the dance they do in a line across the stage, also pointed downward so it is less potentially jarring

  • Best Man Wins - at the end of the number there are 2 quick lighting changes

  • Corn Mix - this number goes through a bunch of different periods of time and denotes this via quick lighting shifts

Content Warnings

This kinda contains spoilers! Be warned!

General:

  • Manipulative relationship(s)

  • Sex-related jokes/innuendos

(Though this show is a comedy so the heavier content does not feel heavy at all)

(Nerdy Moment)

A conversation on accessible comedy

This is, on some level, unnecessary, but I make these reviews both for the audience to know what to expect and for the theater community to learn about accessible staging SO let’s talk accessible comedy.

(If you want to learn more about this topic, I have a video on my channel titled “Autism, Humor, & Commedia dell’Arte”)

Comedy is typically based on social norms, leaning on the “weird” and unexpected to make people laugh. For people who struggle with social norms, whose natural existence is seen as “weird”, and/or who have slower processing speeds, this can make comedy a lot more difficult to enjoy.

It can instead involve using people like us as the butt of the joke, moving so quickly that we miss the joke or can’t process it in time to thoroughly enjoy it, or be so rooted in confusing social norms that we don’t realize it’s a joke.

Shucked didn’t do that.

There are many ways to make comedy more accessible but here are a few pro tips that this show (likely unintentionally) made great use of. Because yes, making comedy accessible makes it funnier for everyone.

  • Self-awareness - the characters were often aware that they made jokes and would make that obvious to the audience so you knew a joke happened (and their over the top reactions made it way funnier)

  • Extensive pauses - because the characters were aware of their jokes, they leaned into the time spent for the audience to laugh at the jokes, giving people with slower processing speeds the time to fully understand the joke and laugh along with everyone else (slow processors love complicated and witty jokes too! Just give us a little time)

  • Running bits - if one bit continues throughout the show and keeps getting added to, it’s easier to process and understand! Semi-predictable humor is great

  • Physicality - for disabled people, we are less likely to realize different physicality is meant to be funny (and are often likely to feel self conscious if we do). But if it’s so wildly over the top that it’s not even based in reality, like a really obviously planned fall down the stairs or an over the top silly walk, we will laugh too

  • Over the top expressions - you can tell what emotion a comment/joke is supposed to invoke when an entire cast’s facial expressions show clear horror at something a character said while that character is smiling. The dichotomy itself is hilarious, but it also makes it easier to understand the joke

Some other really great examples of accessible comedy include things rooted in Commedia dell’Arte/slapstick, such as a lot of old Hollywood films, silent films, Monty Python, and the “Goes Wrong” franchise.

This has been my nerdy moment, thank you for your time.