Even though La Jolla isn’t really in Los Angeles, the disco era is in equal parts loved and despised by millions. And no one represented that era better than Donna Summer. The disco diva had hits with such songs as “Love to Love You Baby,” “Last Dance,” “She Works Hard for the Money” and “Mac Arthur Park.” It was inevitable that a musical would be fashioned around these songs and Des McAnuff, Robert Cary and Colman Domingo have done just that. SUMMER: The Donna Summer Musical continues after opening last week at the La Jolla Playhouse and runs through December 24th.
The show’s conceit is to have three different women play Donna Summer at different parts of her life. There is “Duckling Donna” played by Storm Lever. “Disco Donna” played by Ariana DeBose. And finally “Diva Donna” played by LaChanze.
I don’t think Donna Summer ever recorded “On Broadway,” but I’ll bet that’s the goal for this production.
