Hee Haw, a showcase of rural humor and country music set in Kornfield Kounty, premiered on CBS one month before the United States put the first men on the moon in 1969. Even as the world kept advancing, Hee Haw kept on goosing its corny jokes with a loud laugh track, until what was once a bumper comedy crop finally failed in 1992.

Three decades later, Broadway reminded us what we’d been missing with the dad-joke extravaganza Shucked, a high-proof corn mashup of Hee Haw and a comedic musical romance. As it stops at Broadway in Chicago’s CIBC Theatre on its first national tour, the only thing to say is: Salute!

Sure, many of these jokes were old when Abe Lincoln was in short pants, but the groaners are half the fun in this laughs-by-the-bushel book by Tony Award winner Robert Horn. The other half comes from the hummable, strummable, candy-corn score by Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally–especially as sung by a uniformly strong and affable cast. It’s led by delightful Danielle Wade as (naturally) Maizy, the innocent girl who leaves isolated Cob County to find a way to save its ailing corn crop; Miki Abraham as Maizy’s worldly cousin Lulu; and Quinn VanAntwerp as Gordy, the con man she brings back from that glittery mecca known as Tampa.

Both Abraham and VanAntwerp were part of the Broadway cast, and it shows in performances squeezing every last drop out of over-the-top roles that send their characters careening toward each other to create their own field of dreams. The musical highlight is Abraham’s “Independently Owned,” an anthem about a down-home sister doing it for herself (“Don’t need a man for flatteries/Got a corn cob and some batteries”), but there are catchy numbers throughout.

There’s nothing profound here. Like corn itself, you’ll be the same going into this show as you are coming out. But Shucked is the perfect sunny entertainment for a cold Chicago winter.

Shucked runs through January 19 at Broadway in Chicago’s CIBC Theatre.

For a full roundup of reviews of this show, visit Theatre in Chicago.

Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman