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. With a score featuring more than 20 of Summer’s classic hits including “Love to Love You Baby,” “Bad Girls” and “Hot Stuff,” this electric experience is a moving tribute to the voice of a generation. The Hollywood Reporter says that SUMMER is “PURE BLISS. An ebullient era in music! It gives the trailblazing songstress her rightful place in pop culture.”
SUMMER – THE DONNA SUMMER MUSICAL
Reviews
Overall, this tour will likely be successful, as Summer is beloved and represents a period in music that breeds nostalgia. It provides no insights, though, and you leave with regret at the missed opportunities for capturing the heart and soul of a woman who made an impact on the industry.
As Broadway has taken a chance with presenting larger than life biography stories on a theatrical level, it has indeed succeeded with the story of Donna Summer.
Indeed, this sparkling must-see musical is not to be missed.
As directed by Des McAnuff and choreographed by Sergio Trujillo, “Summer: The Donna Summer Musical” is joyful extravaganza that tells an electrifying story.
Despite what doesn’t work for Des McAnuff and his team this time out, ultimately this dazzlingly-appointed production helped me forget about the show’s sloppy oversentimentality and glaring factual omissions and had me undulating to the contagious beat of the former Miss Gaines’ groundbreaking music along with the rest of the Pantages’ opening night crowd. I don’t think there was a single person, from pintsized kids to us geriatrically-challenged former partypeople in the house, who did not eventually succumb to the need to stand up and rock out by the time the 11th-hour recreation of Donna Summers’ megahit “Hot Stuff” filled the stately Pantages with its joyous spirit guaranteed to make anyone still breathing forget their troubles and come on an’ get happy.
Considering that the legendary figure at the center of this story spent much of her life battling against being pigeonholed as superficial and unworthy, “Summer: The Donna Summer Musical” is unforgivably superficial and pretty much unworthy.
It features three actresses working together to portray the Queen of Disco at different points throughout her life, all while singing the artist’s popular dance anthems. While enthusiastic fans of Summer’s music will surely delight in this mostly upbeat show, it is a bit of a mixed bag as a bio-musical, with certain more dramatic aspects of the singer’s life glossed over haphazardly.
High on entertainment value and a must for Donna Summer fans, the book needs work. We are treated to glimpses of Summer's life and career, but scenes need to be fleshed out more. Donna Summer is the Disco Queen and deserves more than this.
The show seems to be fueled by estrogen. There are three different Donnas—the young Duckling Donna (Olivia Elease Hardy), the flashy dance queen Disco Donna (Alex Hairston) and the more mature mothering Diva Donna (Dan’yelle Williamson)–and the chorus is largely female. Yet it took three men (Colman Domingo, Robert Cary and Des McAnuff) to write the threadbare book (with an assist from Summer’s widower Bruce Sudano as Story Consultant). Early on, Summer claims to be presenting “the concert of a lifetime” but it turns out to be more of a concert with annoying dialogue and half-hearted attempts at staging scenes.
Overall, this tour will likely be successful, as Summer is beloved and represents a period in music that breeds nostalgia. It provides no insights, though, and you leave with regret at the missed opportunities for capturing the heart and soul of a woman who made an impact on the industry.
As Broadway has taken a chance with presenting larger than life biography stories on a theatrical level, it has indeed succeeded with the story of Donna Summer.
Indeed, this sparkling must-see musical is not to be missed.
As directed by Des McAnuff and choreographed by Sergio Trujillo, “Summer: The Donna Summer Musical” is joyful extravaganza that tells an electrifying story.
Despite what doesn’t work for Des McAnuff and his team this time out, ultimately this dazzlingly-appointed production helped me forget about the show’s sloppy oversentimentality and glaring factual omissions and had me undulating to the contagious beat of the former Miss Gaines’ groundbreaking music along with the rest of the Pantages’ opening night crowd. I don’t think there was a single person, from pintsized kids to us geriatrically-challenged former partypeople in the house, who did not eventually succumb to the need to stand up and rock out by the time the 11th-hour recreation of Donna Summers’ megahit “Hot Stuff” filled the stately Pantages with its joyous spirit guaranteed to make anyone still breathing forget their troubles and come on an’ get happy.
Considering that the legendary figure at the center of this story spent much of her life battling against being pigeonholed as superficial and unworthy, “Summer: The Donna Summer Musical” is unforgivably superficial and pretty much unworthy.
It features three actresses working together to portray the Queen of Disco at different points throughout her life, all while singing the artist’s popular dance anthems. While enthusiastic fans of Summer’s music will surely delight in this mostly upbeat show, it is a bit of a mixed bag as a bio-musical, with certain more dramatic aspects of the singer’s life glossed over haphazardly.
High on entertainment value and a must for Donna Summer fans, the book needs work. We are treated to glimpses of Summer's life and career, but scenes need to be fleshed out more. Donna Summer is the Disco Queen and deserves more than this.
The show seems to be fueled by estrogen. There are three different Donnas—the young Duckling Donna (Olivia Elease Hardy), the flashy dance queen Disco Donna (Alex Hairston) and the more mature mothering Diva Donna (Dan’yelle Williamson)–and the chorus is largely female. Yet it took three men (Colman Domingo, Robert Cary and Des McAnuff) to write the threadbare book (with an assist from Summer’s widower Bruce Sudano as Story Consultant). Early on, Summer claims to be presenting “the concert of a lifetime” but it turns out to be more of a concert with annoying dialogue and half-hearted attempts at staging scenes.