Drew McOnie’s inaugural season as artistic director of Regent’s Park Open Air theatre will open with a hit US musical about corn.
Shucked will have its UK premiere this summer on the outdoor stage in London whose verdant surroundings should suit a rural comedy set in the corn town of Cob County. Brandy Clark, Shane McAnally and Robert Horn’s musical about the fight to overcome failing crops was nominated for nine Tony awards in 2023. It is currently on a US tour.
The London production, directed by Jack O’Brien, will star Ben Joyce whose previous roles include Marty McFly in Back to the Future: The Musical. The cast will include Sophie McShera, who played Daisy on Downton Abbey, and Georgina Onuorah, who played Angelica Schuyler in Hamilton.
Shucked opens in May and will be followed in June by Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Dream Ballets: A Triple Bill, in which three of today’s most acclaimed theatre choreographers, Julia Cheng, Shelley Maxwell and Kate Prince, will reimagine the dream ballets from the duo’s musicals Allegro, Oklahoma! and Carousel.
Later in the summer, Dominic Cooke’s adaptation of Malorie Blackman’s novel Noughts & Crosses will be directed by Tinuke Craig. Then McOnie will direct and choreograph Lerner and Loewe’s Brigadoon, adapted by Rona Munro. There will also be another run for the musical based on Roald Dahl’s The Enormous Crocodile, which opened at Leeds Playhouse and was staged at Regent’s Park last summer.
McOnie, who took over at the 1,240-seat theatre after Tim Sheader left to run the Donmar Warehouse, said the outdoor stage offers “a unique opportunity to engage with stories under a shared sky”. James Pidgeon, executive director, said he was “particularly thrilled that we have been able to continue our commitment to £15 tickets”. Throughout the season, 36,000 seats will be available at that price.
