Still More Theater Saturday - Summer the Donna Summer Musical

What: Summer the Donna Summer Musical

Where: Lunt Fontanne Theater
             205 W. 46th St.
             New York, NY

Who: Recommended for Ages 13 and up due to subject matter

When: Through December 30 only!

Me - Summer the Donna Summer Musical was  a good show. Although I was not really familiar with Donna Summer or her music before I saw the show, I liked the music a lot. I would love to hear some of her songs again. It was interesting learning about Donna Summer and her music.The story was a little bit hard to follow at times because of all the jumping back and forth in time. However. it was still enjoyable. The three actresses who played Donna were all very good. Their voices were really nice. The costumes were really pretty, and there were quite a lot of them. The staging of the show was interesting. It was cool the way the three Donna's kept being raised up from below the stage floor. Even if you are unfamiliar with Donna Summer like I was, you can definitely still enjoy this show.

Mom - If you love, Donna Summer, you will definitely enjoy Summer the Donna Summer Musical. However, even if you are not familiar with Donna Summer, the show is still enjoyable. Donna Summer is often known as the Disco Queen. However, there is more to her music than that. Her song catalogue includes some beautiful ballads, a duet with none other than Barbra Streisand, and even a song from the movie version of the musical, Hair among other things. Donna is personified here  at three different points in her life and career by three different actresses. The angelic voiced, Storm Lever plays a young Donna. Ariana DeBose,  portrays her in her disco heydey. Tony winner, La Chanze, who was also nominated for a Tony for her role in this show as was Ariana DeBose, plays Donna in her later years.There is quite a bit of jumping back and forth in time which can be confusing at times but does not take away from the enjoyment of the show. The performances are all terrific and definitely the reason to see this show. The cutting edge ensemble is made up mostly of women who play even the men's parts. This is a unique spin on the old techinque of having the men play women's parts which was so popular in Shakespeare's day when women were not encouraged to act. One of the few men in the show is Jared Zirilli who plays Donna's second husband, Bruce Sudano.Their meeting is cute and their relationship is sweet. Once you have seen this show, you will never be able to hear their duet, Heaven Knows, again without it putting a smile on your face. Seeing this show that is mostly full of happy upbeat music will put a smile on your face as well so if you haven't seen it, you should go see it now while you still have time.

For more information about Summer the Donna Summer Musical or to order tickets, visit http://thedonnasummermusical.com/.

And that's our view. Tune in tomorrow for this week's Sunday Scoop.

Photo credits: All Donna Summer the Musical production photos by Joan Marcus