This deeply moving, insightful piece is about connection, memories, and the small moments that can change the course of our lives. Over one fateful summer, an unlikely friendship develops between Diana, a fiercely iconoclastic artist and single mom, and Alice, a free-spirited yet naive young housewife. As the Bicentennial is celebrated across the country, these two young women in Ohio navigate motherhood, ambition, and intimacy, and help each other discover their own independence. Directing is Tony winner Daniel Sullivan.
The anodyne, bittersweet Summer, 1976 seems designed to stir nostalgia among Manhattan Theatre Club’s subscriber base—not just for the 1970s, when most of it takes place, but for MTC itself. The production reunites director Daniel Sullivan with playwright David Auburn, who wrote the company’s 2000 hit Proof, and with the very fine actor Laura Linney, whom he has directed in four previous MTC shows on Broadway; joining them is stage treasure Jessica Hecht, of MTC’s The Assembled Parties. It’s a dramatic dream team; what’s missing is drama.
Directed with his customary sensitivity by the veteran Daniel Sullivan (who also helmed, among many distinguished productions, Mr. Auburn’s Pulitzer Prize winner “Proof”), the play does in fact have the languorous but appealing vibe of a sleepy summer, initially uneventful, but with accumulating undercurrents of emotional complexity as Diana (Ms. Linney) and Alice (Ms. Hecht) gradually open up to one another. Not incidentally, Mr. Auburn’s play gives Ms. Linney and Ms. Hecht—two of our finest stage actors—an opportunity to display, without a moment of histrionics, or even conventionally structured drama, their admirably honed gifts.
Digital Rush
Price: $43
Where: On the Today Tix app.
When: Released on a first-come, first-served basis every performance day at 9 AM.
Limit: Two per customer
Information: Subject to availability.
Student Rush
Price: $30
Where: Samuel J. Friedman box office
When: Student rush tickets are available at the box office on the day of the show when the box office opens.
Limit: Two per customer
Information: Payable by cash or credit card and available to students with an ID from a degree or diploma-granting institution. Subject to availability.
2023 | Broadway |
Manhattan Theatre Club World Premiere Broadway Production Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2023 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Laura Linney |
2023 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Production of a Play | Summer, 1976 |
2023 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding New Broadway Play | Summer, 1976 |
2023 | Tony Awards | Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Play | Jessica Hecht |
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