*Yet another musical taken from popular music culture to the Broadway stage, “Summer: The Donna Summer Musical” is filled with good intentions but ultimately makes some bad choices.
Starring Tony Award winner LaChanze, Ariana DeBose, and newcomer Storm Lever as three Donnas from different phases of the iconic singer/songwriter’s career, “Summer” opened April 23, at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre.
Directed by two-time Tony Award winner Des McAnuff; with book by Colman Domingo, Robert Cary and McAnuff, “Summer” is produced by music industry veteran Tommy Mottola and theatrical production giant The Dodgers.
Though Summer—who died in May 2012—sustained a more than four-decade career, the musical centers mostly around her rise to fame and her most successful recordings including, “I Feel Love,” “MacArthur Park,” “No More Tears (Enough is Enough),” “On the Radio,” “Bad Girls,” “She Works Hard for the Money,” “Dim All the Lights,” “Hot Stuff,” and “Last Dance.” The production also highlights her family and her humble beginnings in Boston, her life in Germany, her husbands, children and her career as a painter. LaChanze (Diva Donna/Mary Gaines), DeBose (Disco Donna), and Lever (Duckling Donna/Mimi) deliver stellar performances throughout the production.
The musical’s strengths include the beautiful and stunning wardrobe and wig creations by Paul Tazewell (costume design) and Charles G. LaPointe (wig and hair design), which represent the looks, style and, glamour befitting The Disco Queen. Falling in line with the recent increase of female conductors and musicians in New York theater productions over the last few years, “Summer” features an all-female band under the direction of male conductor/keyboardist Taylor Peckham, which is an appropriate fit for today’s feminist movement and a story of female empowerment. The stellar pit line-up includes Debra Barsha (associate conductor/keyboardist), Victoria Theodore (keyboard), Michelle Marie Nestor (guitar), Sherisse Rogers (bass), Courtnee Roze (percussion), and Rosa Avila (drums). In addition, there are eleven women and four men in the ensemble cast, with many of the women playing male roles.
Unfortunately, Domingo, Cary and McAnuff’s book for “Summer” is thin on story, failing to focus substantively on the low points and most challenging times of her life. The 100-minute narrative neglects to highlight other significant moments and achievements that shaped her into a global cultural icon. Several highly-publicized but less positive stories are glossed over, including her 1976 attempted suicide, and her 1979 return to Christianity. The book never fully delves into an incident of sexual abuse as a child by her pastor at the family’s church. Also neglected is an ugly controversy from the 1980s regarding anti-gay remarks she allegedly made during the early years of the AIDS epidemic; comments she adamantly denied for years. As a result, she became the target of a boycott by some of the members of the LGBT community, her music was removed from some radio stations’ playlists, and thousands of her recordings were returned to the label. Several years later, the alleged rumors and controversy escalated to a $30 million lawsuit she filed against New York magazine, which was later settled out-of-court.
Other significant moments absent from the stage production are the journey years before Summer recorded her first album, Lady of the Night, released in Europe, and her first international hit record, “Love to Love You Baby” with music partners and producers Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte. The singer/songwriter began her career in the late ‘60s, where she worked as a part-time model, session singer, and backup vocalist, and she also ventured into rock music. Fluent in German, Summer recorded numerous songs in her second language and performed in several musical productions before her Munich Company theatrical debut as Sheila in the rock musical, “Hair.” She was also a member of the Vienna People’s Opera in Austria. Summer was also among the first group of African American artists to have her video, “She Works Hard for the Money,” played in heavy rotation on MTV; and she was also the first black female artist to be nominated for an MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video and Best Choreography.
Further, “Summer: The Musical” never connects the singer to her peers; Summer was revered by many, and there are no mentions of her relationships with the fellow recording artists, producers, and songwriters with whom she established close bonds and friendships over the years, including Dolly Pardon, David Foster, Chaka Khan and others.
Despite the fact that Summer’s husband, Bruce Sudano of Brooklyn Dreams, was the story consultant on the musical, the narrative seems underdeveloped. Also, there are numerous shortcuts and missed opportunities to create an atmosphere that truly reflected the look and feel of the era. The scenic design by Robert Brill is mediocre and mundane; the projection design by Sean Nieuwenhuis could have featured more iconic images of the superstar, and the choreography by Sergio Trujillo is unremarkable. With the mega successes of biographical musicals such as “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical,” still on Broadway after more than four years, and “On Your Feet,” the story of 26-time Grammy Award-winning husband-and-wife duo Gloria and Emilio Estefan, Summer deserves a book and production equal to her legacy and talent.
More than The Queen of Disco, LaDonna Adrian Gaines is a cultural icon. The Boston native and five-time Grammy Award winner sold an estimated 140 million records with more than 30 chart-topping hit singles, which all have landed on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. In 2016, Billboard magazine ranked Summer as the number six most successful dance artist of all time. The good news is that Donna Summer’s music continues to live on the radio, in clubs, and in entertainment and lifestyle venues throughout the world.
Because of her enduring popularity, “Summer” could take up residency on a national and international tour in short order. The musical will also be a wonderful attraction on the Las Vegas strip.
“Summer: The Donna Summer Musical” is an open run at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater, 205 West 46th Street, New York, NY. For information and tickets, please visit https://www.thedonnasummermusical.com
Gwendolyn Quinn is an award-winning media strategist and consultant with a career spanning more than 25 years. She is a contributor to NBCNews.com/NBCBLK.com, BlackEnterprise.com, HuffPost, and Medium.com, among others.
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