A Donna Summer Musical

[OneFinger]

Looking forward to seeing this musical at the La Jolla Playhouse next weekend.The cast is impressive.

[Lucky]

Thanks for mentioning this. I am also interested, and was able to get the last 3 tickets for the date I wanted. So much already sold out.

[OneFinger]

Fantastic play and I really enjoyed it. Lots of high energy singing. Glad they use 3 different women to plan Donna Summer at different times in her life. I don't think a single person could handle all the singing and demands of this role.

My only complaint is that they only had 4-5 males in the cast. A lot of the other male roles were performed by women in male drag. Not really a fan of that.

Would I see it again?? HELL YES!!!11

 

[Lucky]

Thanks for the report! I see it in a couple of weeks.

[Lucky]

I saw the show last night. The house was sold out and enthusiastic. It's easy to see why One Finger liked the show so much. The three Donnas have spectacular voices. Obviously the music is good, or you wouldn't have gone. The set is colorful. So far, so good, eh?

But, as One Finger points out, the backup dancers are all female, often dressed as males, but they didn't fool me. Since gays were virtually ignored in this show, gay guys who attend, hoping to see a version of their younger selves on stage dancing to Donna Summer's songs, too bad for you. No sweaty shirtless guys absorbed in Last Dance or MacArthur Park. Just girls.

There are two references to gays in the show. One is where Donna found that she had something in common with a male friend in that they both had boy friends. Later, when she is talking about being the Queen of Disco, a character on stage says something to the effect of "it's nice being a queen." He does that in a very effeminate manner.

The biggest reference to gays is when the Donna character acknowledges that there were three types of men in her life, the latter being her gay audience. She then mentions her Adam & Steve comment and apologizes for it, saying that she never judges anyone. Oh. Well, how about acknowledging that without the gay support for her music she would probably never have reached the level of stardom she did. Using female dancers in the show cuts out the gay men entirely, so we are still left to wonder how much she appreciated the support she received.

As a whole, I don't see this show going to Broadway. A huge rewrite would be needed as some scenes are quite flat and unnecessary. The public is pretty unfamiliar with her life story. I didn't know she was married three times and had three kids. She was beaten a lot. She complains about success a lot. She sued Casablanca for bankrupting her, and then hired David Geffen, who is not identified as gay.

Without the support of the gay community, even a re-worked version of this show would find trouble on Broadway, which is run by gay men and Jewish men. The show features abundantly her faith in Jesus, and, as said, virtually ignores gays. I just don't see that going over well in New York.

All of which left me to enjoy the music and the singing. And I enjoyed that a lot. MacArthur Park was wonderfully done, even without watching sweaty shirtless hunks dancing to it.

 

Note: Summer denied making any anti-gay remarks. She was lying, of course, as the musical clearly acknowledges the Adam & Steve comment: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/12/donna-summer-anti-gay-remarks-apology-letter_n_1591615.html

One man's view of Donna Summer: http://marksking.com/my-fabulous-disease/enduring-legacy-donna-summer-gay-men/

 

[Lucky]

When I Googled the gay remarks controversy, it amazed me how many gay men dealt with it by denying she said anything negative. Of course, we know she did. But she sure denied it a lot!

https://books.google.com/books?id=drkDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA32&lpg=PA32&dq=donna+summer+gay+controversy&source=bl&ots=u9a6MdGNzz&sig=3IMv_aaj1A39AJdspUU3LHhFsJ8&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjX56rIqt3XAhUSwWMKHdhADjc4KBDoAQg4MAM#v=onepage&q=donna summer gay controversy&f=false

[OneFinger]

Lucky,

Thanks for your review. You bring out some significant faults with the production. But, as you mentioned, the music was fantastic and brought back lots of positive memories for me.

 

[Lucky]

One Finger, I am glad that you liked my review. It seems we are the only ones interested in this show, so I can ask you a question right here: The kids on stage were, I thought, meant to be Donna's kids. When she gets her cancer diagnosis, they sit with her and talk about how they will fight this. And then you see them asking who she is, celebrity-wise. But they can't be her kids in either scene as she was 63 when she died and her oldest daughter was 39. So they must be her grand kids. Did you see that at the time? I must have missed it as I certainly thought they were meant to be her kids.

They are presented as tight-knit, but once she died they fought after her $75 million estate. David Geffen did good by her if she was bankrupt when she left Casablanca.

[OneFinger]

I had a hard time following who was who because of people playing multiple roles. But, I think you're correct that they were meant to be grand kids. But, they appeared as her kids.

[Guest mrb43]

I saw the play this past weekend.

In my humble opinion, it stinks.  It will never get to Broadway.

Suggestion?  Eliminate the entire cast, keep oldest "Disco" Donna character.

Rewrite the play as a Donna Summer concert with her talking about her life between numbers.

[OneFinger]

mrb43: Good observations and comments. I really liked hearing her music again but, I agree, there are some improvements that can be made.

[Lucky]

It's going to Broadway! In April. Can't believe it, but it got me back here to share the news!

https://nypost.com/2017/12/14/donna-summer-musical-producers-are-scared-of-cher/

[Lucky]

OneFinger, the Donna Summer musical opened in New York last night, and I was curious as to how the professional critics reacted.

The NY Post gave it one star, saying it is "not hot stuff."  https://nypost.com/2018/04/23/looking-for-some-hot-stuff-dont-see-the-new-donna-summer-musical/

The NY Daily News didn't like it either. They say "it drops the disco ball." http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/theater-arts/summer-review-donna-summer-biomusical-drops-disco-ball-article-1.3949934

The NY Times says that "Hot stuff turns cold." It's "the cockroach of Broadway," the Times says. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/23/theater/review-summer-the-donna-summer-musical-broadway.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Ftheater&action=click&contentCollection=theater&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront

So what are we to make of the ad for the show that quotes the Hollywood Reporter calling it "pure bliss." I read that review, which was for the La Jolla production, and the Reporter didn't like it either. The "pure bliss" line was for one scene in the show, not the entire show. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/summer-donna-summer-musical-theater-1060604

Of the new show in New York, the Reporter says " this tacky little show, a feebly dramatized Wikipedia page with lackluster covers, which was rushed to Broadway following a fall tryout at La Jolla Playhouse that received mostly tepid reviews. And yet it shows no sign of improvements having been attempted. Heaven knows it's not the way it should be. " The pure bliss quote is renamed " jolt of bliss" to make sure we don't think it applies to the entire show! https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/summer-donna-summer-musical-theater-review-1105049

So, we figured that the show needed work before it hit New York. It didn't get any. Donna Summer is as shortchanged in this show as her gay fans are.

"The cockroach of Broadway>" I doubt they will put that in the ad!

[Lucky]

The show is doing well at the box office, although the reviews might have an impact on future sales.

[OneFinger]

LaChanze was just nominated for Outstanding Actress in a Musical in the 2018 Drama Desk Nominations.I think it's a well-deserved nomination and I hope she wins.

http://variety.com/2018/legit/news/drama-desk-awards-nominations-2018-full-list-1202788443/

 

[Lucky]

She has fared well in the reviews. It's too bad that she cannot be the undisputed star of the show.  The only other nominee I recognize in that category is Daphne Rubin-Vega, who was so good in Rent.

[Suckrates]

For me, although I embraced her music as a "yungin", her legacy of Homophobia lives with her, regardless of her lame attempt at damage control.  Fake it till ya make it....She DID !    Now she throws the gays out with the garbage.  Fuck her.