The last ten minutes or so of Summer are absolute magic. The stage is lit up, everyone’s wearing a beautiful sparkly outfit, and the dance music flows. The great disco songs “Hot Stuff” and “Last Dance” are belted out by all three Donnas, and the whole company is onstage to join in. This is what we’re been waiting for from a show about “The Queen of Disco.” Unfortunately, it’s the book of this musical that lets us down. Unlike Jersey Boys and On Your Feet, dialogue for Summer lags miserably. Bring back the music and the glitz! It doesn’t help that the lack of scenery makes it seem as though the producers have cheaped out. If the story of the poor girl from Boston who made it big is to include the bad times, a quick reference to sexual abuse by her pastor shouldn’t be so fleeting that we’re left saying “huh?” Physical abuse is delivered by a character so underdeveloped that we’re in the dark about who he is, and why Donna’s in a relationship with him- or is she? What are the blue pills she says she popped, and why did she do it? Yes, she made a comment that outraged her vast gay following; but it wasn’t a slip of the tongue as much as the result of her becoming a born-again Christian. There are several numbers that are unfamiliar to the audience, but no “Sunset People,” one of her most iconic hits. The dancers are terrific; the female hoofer with the long brown hair is especially good. Excellent choice to have them dolled up for “Bad Girls.” Whoever got the idea to dress these women up like men to play male roles made an egregious mistake, which is made even more confusing when the important men in her life are played by…men. It’s distracting, not funny, to have a black woman deliver a line about “middle-aged white guys like me.” Bruce Sudano, Donna’s second husband, deserves better from actor Jared Zirilli when it comes to faux guitar playing on stage; learning to strum a couple of chords would help. Chorus members carrying lilies and sad faces for a funeral is a howler when “Dim All the Lights” is used as a funeral dirge. There is just so much that’s off-key in this musical about a singer who hit every note perfectly. The three lead performers deserve a better vehicle. They are each dynamic actors and brilliant singers. The bulk of the show is carried by Ariana DeBose, who portrays Donna as an up-and-coming star. Even with her foot in a cast, she was energetic, restless, grace personified. Storm Lever skillfully does double duty as very young Donna and Donna’s beloved daughter, Mimi. LaChanze is one of those performers you love the moment she walks on stage. As the more mature Donna, she radiates warmth, joy, and a deep sense of pain tempered by faith. When she describes the genesis of “She Works Hard for the Money,” an encounter with a weary Ladies’ room attendant, it both tugs at the heart and gives us insight as to how dialogue might have been used effectively in the production. Caveat: this is a loud show; if your ears haven’t already been ruined by music played at a shattering decibel level, pack earplugs. Note to everyone bringing in a Broadway show: Please stop dropping crap on our heads. I’d just shaken off the “snow” from Frozen when I got hit with the silver discs from this show. In Donna’s words, enough is enough. By all means, everyone who loves Donna Summer should come to this show. Her fans are having the best time rocking on to the great disco beat. But fans, no matter what the beautiful LaChanze tells you at the beginning of the performance, it really isn’t necessary to sing along. The performers onstage are doing that just fine.
