A life of gold records and fame

Donna Summer’s life was a glamorous arc of pulsating hit records that raised the roof in clubs and discos of the ‘70s and ‘80s. Her journey was surrounded with lights and glitz, but the woman embodied much more than that. “Summer: The Donna Summer Musical,” which debuted recently at The Gateway, provides a glimpse of that life through 22 of Summer’s rousing songs and storytelling through the three stages of Donna: Grace Capless as teenage Duckling Donna; Afra Hines as Disco Donna; and Renee Marie Titus as Diva Donna, all Broadway and international stars.

Summer, who died in 2012 from lung cancer, wanted a musical about her life. That happened when it hit Broadway, in 2018. And now it’s here on a Bellport stage.

How do you fit someone’s amazing life into a couple of hours? And it was an amazing ride of talent, persistence, and guts dealing with ownership of her gift, the men in her life, some great, some awful; record producers—same there; lonely nights in hotel rooms; mother’s guilt and standing up for herself. That trajectory is played out with poignancy and intelligence as the three Donnas step into their eras and in between, providing clarity to her story with thoughtful dialogue.

It works seamlessly under the direction of Jenny Laroche, herself a Broadway baby, as is choreographer and assistant director Kyli Rae.

When Renee Marie Titus as Diva Donna appears in the first scene (18 women blast out, some with musical instruments), she announces, “I want the next couple of hours to be something you remember. If you want to sing along, go ahead. And if you want to dance, go ahead.”

Someone from the audience yelled out, “I love you!” and the show took off.

It didn’t start in the disco, as Diva Donna (Titus) says. It started in Summer’s childhood living room, with a yearning young Donna (Capless), who’s unsure. There’s an encouraging support system as the three Donnas review her life, and in this scene she’s told, “Remember what happens to ducklings. They become beautiful black swans.”

“On My Honor” is a beautiful rendition with her family as a chorus, portraying her uncertainty and devotion to family.

There are 22 mostly shoulder-shaking, feet-tapping numbers sung with power and conviction by all three women, Titus, Hines, and Capeless, who embody them with fabulous dance moves and gestures. There just aren’t enough superlatives to describe these three women. It’s as if they embraced their roles channeling Summer.

When Summer records “Love to Love You Baby,” that sexual, sensuous song (“If my father heard this he would explode,” Hines says as Disco Donna,), Hines lays on the floor becoming her character, emulating Marilyn Monroe singing in a breathy, ethereal voice. John Rochette, as Casablanca record producer Neil Bogart, is perfect as the slick, arrogant record head who pushes her, sometimes in ways she rebels against. Donna is in Germany, where she first established herself, when she learns it’s a blowout hit.

But “MacArthur Park” was what brought her front and center.

Hines’s range is amazing as the three Donnas pump it out for that one while the audience cheered.

Some of Summer’s issues are touched on: really abusive men, the lawsuit against Casablanca Records, a suicide attempt. But there are a lot of triumphs, including an enduring love with Bruce Sudano, played with amazing chemistry and voice by Carmine Mastrokostas (you can feel the heat here).

Okay, I defy you to stay still during “Bad Girls,” “She Works Hard for the Money,” (Summer relates that she encountered a tired attendant in the ladies’ room who told her she worked two jobs to make ends meet when she wrote that song), “Hot Stuff,” and the finale “Last Dance.”

Donna Summer was a beautiful, kind woman with an insistent ambition that drove her to achieve great fame, which she balanced at the end.  Kudos to the over 20 in the cast, some who played dual roles, as well as the orchestra. They all, like Donna herself did, raised the roof in this production.