The classic country music sketch comedy show is now set to be the next Broadway must-see. Hee Haw the Musical is already getting rave reviews from early screeners, with statements like “I haven’t laughed so hard since I saw ‘Book of Mormon,’ ” one of them told me.
“It was kick-ass,” said another. “Everybody left on a high, it was so much fun.”
The show is being put together by Steve Buchanan, head of Opry Entertainment Group, which owns Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry. He’s assembled a first-rate team: The script is by Robert Horn, who wrote the underrated “13” musical with Jason Robert Brown. And music and lyrics are by Shane McAnally and Brandy Clark.
Unlike the old TV show, this isn’t a revue with songs and sketches, but an honest-to-goodness story about a wily sexpot from Kornfield Kounty and her boyfriend. They’re destined to be married, but she decides she wants to see the world first. Several of the characters made famous from the TV show appear in the musical, including Grandpa Jones, Misty Rowe, Lulu Roman (love her!) and Junior Samples. There’s no Barbi Benton as yet, but here’s hoping!