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.
If “Summer, 1976” feels too comfortable to be fashionable, it’s sharply observant, too, and subtly, insistently feminist - more than the wisp of a two-hander that it might first appear to be. Auburn, who at 53 was about Holly and Gretchen’s age during the Bicentennial, has once again sown a script with riches for actors. Linney and Hecht mine them for all they’re worth.
The play nonetheless proves affecting, thanks to its sensitive insights about the vagaries of friendships and the way they can evolve, or not, with the passage of time and the impact of external forces. Under the uncluttered direction of Daniel Sullivan, the two actresses deliver sterling performances, displaying an authentic-seeming chemistry and making the closeness between their very different characters fully believable. You come away from Summer, 1976 feeling like you wish you’d been able to spend more time with Diana and Alice, and that they’d been able to spend more time with each other.
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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