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.

What? Another jukebox musical? On the surface, singer-songwriter Donna Summer is an ideal subject for a jukebox musical. She sold more than 140 million records worldwide during her career, winning five Grammy Awards and releasing 32 hit singles, 14 of which reached the Top Ten. So why isn’t the new musical Summer: The Donna Summer Musical better?   The music is exciting, pulsating and nonstop, featuring all the fan favorites, including “Love to Love You Baby,” “Heaven Knows,” and “Bad Girls.” The ensemble is excellent and the three women who play Summer in the three stages of her life are talented. The audience at The Lunt-Fontanne Theatre is given permission early on to join in singing and clapping and never stops. However, despite Summer’s tumultuous career and life, the book by Colman Domingo, Robert Cary and Des McAnuff leaves much to be desired. Her story is short-changed and the drama minimized. Perhaps the writers didn’t want to detract from the music or ruin the audience’s enjoyment.  As a result, serious events are glossed over or used merely as vehicles to introduce songs. When Summer’s ex-husband comes to her apartment and begins to beat her, she fights back until eventu …Read more