There is an unfortunate disconnect with Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, now playing at Toby’s Dinner Theatre in Columbia. The actors/waitstaff and technical crew work tremendously hard for the money — akin to Summer’s landmark 1983 #1 hit — yet the show has an inherent weakness that even this talented artistic and technical staff cannot overcome.
Directors Jessica Bennett and Mark Minnick, along with scenic designer Shane Lowry, do their best to set the vibe from the first moments of the production. In “The Queen Is Back,” the lights go dark, the audience is instantly transported into a dark and foggy haze, and the cast encircles the sensational actress Tierra Strickland as “Diva Donna.”
Bennett, who doubles as choreographer for this production, does a fantastic job, and the dancing is consistently excellent. Costumes by Sarah King and Rose Ryon are a core part of the vibe; they are fast-paced and appropriate to the moment, whether it’s the shiny light blue pieces of the opening number or the bell bottoms and long coats that defined the ’70s. Lynn Joslin’s lighting design, with blues and purples and all sorts of bright colors, enlivens the night.
The show uses three versions of Summer, at different ages and stages, to tell this jukebox musical; Diva Donna is the more established star narrating her life’s journey, Disco Donna (Aniyah Serrell Lee) is her younger self amid the ride of the disco era, and Duckling Donna (Gracious Ndungu) is the youngest version of our lead.
A night out at Toby’s, with the best pre-show, in-house dinner around the DMV, always entertains; this production — written by Colman Domingo, Robert Cary, and Des McAnuff — is filled with decades of Summer songs, from 1968’s “White Boys” to 2008’s “The Queen Is Back,” from Summer’s final studio album. It is an homage to the go-go mid-1970s disco era, when the answer to “What do you do?” was, of course, “Coke.”
The cast, young and older, is strong. Ndungu, as a young Donna growing up, strikes an emotional chord with the audience as she is raised under the controlling influence of her father (Otega Okurume). As Neil Bogart, head of Casablanca Records (the label that released the hits that defined Summer’s peak years as an artist), Jeffrey Shankle also adds to the fun; his fast-talking wit helps you understand how he powered Donna’s rise. And amid an outstanding ensemble, Terrell Chambers (who also doubles as the Pastor) is a sensational dancer, moving so smoothly to the beat of the six-piece orchestra that underpins this production.
The overarching challenge for this production is nobody directly involved in it: the problem is the musical itself.
As crafted by Domingo, Cary, and McAnuff, it fits Summer’s songs to moments in her life. As such, when Summer is set to marry Helmuth Somer (Patrick Gover, clad in a striking blond wig from hair/wig designer Jayson Kueberth), we hear “Love to Love You, Baby.” Later, in the 1980’s post-disco era, it’s “She Works Hard for the Money,” as the women of the ensemble — clad in gray suit jackets with briefcases — dance with purpose, encircling Strickland and then Lee. The problem is, 40 to 50 years after these songs premiered, the show’s book gives us no reason to care about them. What is the narrative arc that connects the audience to this story? None, as far as I could tell. At its heart, it’s a pacing issue: it is not the number of songs that is too much; the show doesn’t stop to tell us why they matter. Summer runs about 100 minutes, whereas MJ: The Musical, Jersey Boys, and Beautiful: The Carole King Musical are each about 45 minutes longer. While a tight script is appreciated, some songs unfortunately appear only as excerpts, transitions, or parts of a medley. The audience loses the essence of the show because Domingo, Cary, and McAnuff don’t slow things down enough to let the audience understand Summer’s triumphs and challenges.
Summer led a sensational life, across continents, and in the public eye. The audience in Toby’s squared circle — with not a bad seat in the house — gets snippets that help us understand it, like when Disco Donna (Lee) tells Bogart not to give “Bad Girls” to Cher, “ ’cause disco is going to crash, and I don’t want to be there when it burns.”
Yet as the production traced the highs, dramatic drops, and unexpected turns of Summer’s life, it afforded too little time to absorb the impact of each one. Still, though, it is a fun night out at the theater, which runs through the roller-coaster ride of Summer’s life.
Running Time: One hour and 45 minutes, including one 15-minute intermission.
Summer: The Donna Summer Musical plays through November 1, 2026, at Toby’s Dinner Theatre, 5900 Symphony Woods Road, Columbia, MD. Tickets, including dinner and show (adult, $78–$94; child, $67–$70), can be purchased by calling 410-730-8311 and are also available online
The menu is here. The playbill is here.
Fog, haze, and strobe effects may be used in this production.
This musical is recommended for audiences aged 13 and older; it features serious themes such as drug use and sexual innuendo, domestic abuse, and strong language.
