She was a girl from Boston with a voice from heaven, who shot through the stars from gospel choir to dance floor diva. But what the world didn't know was how Donna Summer risked it all to break through barriers, becoming the icon of an era and the inspiration for every music diva who followed.
Tony Award winner LaChanze (The Color Purple), Ariana DeBose (Hamilton, A Bronx Tale) and newcomer Storm Lever play Donna Summer, taking us through her tumultuous life, tempestuous loves and mega-watt musical hits. Spend the night in her electrifying universe.
They've come for the music - and perhaps theatergoers like me have our own cynicism to reckon with in the face of a fan's earnest euphoria. Whatever your personal taste, being surrounded by genuine excitement-by middle-aged women wearing sequined blouses actually standing up in a Broadway theater and joyfully shaking their booties during multiple slinky disco numbers-does a body good. That's what's currently happening in the Lunt-Fontanne, and thanks to the swift, smart construction of Summer, which neither overburdens its material nor overstays its welcome, it's a pretty damn good time.
Heaven knows what the creators of Summer are thinking, if any thought at all has gone into this disco dud of a show. Three talented and blameless women-LaChanze, Ariana DeBose and Storm Lever-play the late Donna Summer at different stages of her life in a tacky, sub-Vegas jukebox biomusical that draws from the singer's groovy catalog of hits, including 'I Feel Love,' 'MacArthur Park,' 'On the Radio' and 'Last Dance.' At its most watchable, the show plays like a barely dramatized adaptation of Summer's Spotify and Wikipedia pages. But when it's bad, it's so, so bad.
2017 | San Diego, CA (Regional) |
World Premiere at La Jolla Playhouse San Diego, CA (Regional) |
2018 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
2019 | US Tour |
US National Tour US Tour |
2021 | US Tour |
US Tour |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2018 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Musical | LaChanze |
2018 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Ariana DeBose |
2018 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | LaChanze |
2018 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Production of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Musical | The Band's Visit |
2018 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Production of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Musical | Summer: The Donna Summer Musical |
2018 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical | Ariana DeBose |
2018 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical | LaChanze |
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