‘Shucked’ brings Kevin Cahoon’s career full circle (and lands a Tony nod)

“I started by telling jokes to the rodeo announcer when I was 5 years old,” Cahoon says. Now, he’s the one-man joke factory in a show about a small town.

Even better? He was nominated for a Tony Award for his work as Peanut, the small-town philosopher, county clerk and watchdog.

Like his rural Texas home (his parents were rodeo performers), “Shucked” celebrates those who can make others laugh. Cahoon gets the lion’s share of one-liners and says timing is essential to delivering the jokes.

“If you add a word or delete a word, you’re up a creek,” he says. “It’s like math. Every single word is there for a reason. It’s music. If you don’t hit a consonant hard enough, it’s not going to land the way it should.”

Cahoon learned those tricks early on, then applied them to other forms of entertainment. He studied musical theater as a child, won a spot on “Star Search” (and the trophy), attended college and wound up on Broadway at 22.

Now, 29 years later, he’s reaping the rewards of a career that included roles on television (“Monarch”) and such iconic Broadway shows as “The Lion King” and “Tommy.”

The former, in fact, taught him how important storytelling was. “Human beings cannot exist without storytelling,” he says. Watching director Julie Taymor craft “The Lion King” was “one of the most exciting, thrilling things I’ve ever been a part of.”

Even better? “I was the front right leg of the elephant puppet opening for ‘Circle of Life,’” Cahoon says. “I was leading the charge.”

Working out its kinks in Minneapolis, “The Lion King” wasn’t a success in its first days – “I don’t think people understood it. But after that first week, it took off like a firestorm … and we were using puppets.”

Still playing on Broadway, the show is a reminder just how important theater can be. When Cahoon walks by the theater, he realizes how fortunate he has been to be a part of something that’s still running more than 25 years later.

“I’m the luckiest actor I have ever known,” he says. And then to get a Tony nomination? “It’s such a validation of the life that I’ve chosen. I’m just over the moon.”

With the show since its early days when it was known as the “Hee Haw” musical, Cahoon says his character (once called Junior Jr.) is an homage to country comedians Jerry Clower, Minnie Pearl and Junior Samples. As it morphed from “Moonshine” to “Shucked,” Junior became Peanut and the story added even more jokes.

Now, Cahoon says, “it’s kind of like a homecoming. The universe has conspired in a wonderful way, combining all the things I love.”

Among those cheering his victory: Marilyn Maye – a costar when he played her nephew in a Houston production of “Mame.” “She came backstage at ‘Shucked’ and said, ‘Can you believe we did ‘Mame’ 40 years ago?’ It was the greatest reunion ever.”

And proof that entertainment careers can last.

While Cahoon has performed three times on the Tonys, this year’s will be his first as a nominee.

“I still have my bucket list of things I really want to accomplish,” he says. “But it’s all about the rooms of people that you get to be in. Getting to watch Julie Taymor create a brand new musical, getting to work with (‘Shucked’ director) Jack O’Brien…these are the great gifts of a career.”

Another milestone? It’s just a Tony — or a show — away.

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The Journal’s Top Stories for the Week of May 28, 2023