''Summer, 1976'' is a
Broadway play written by
David Auburn
David Auburn (born 30 November 1969) is an American playwright, screenwriter and theatre director. He is best known for his 2000 play '' Proof'', which won the 2001 Tony Award for Best Play and Pulitzer Prize for Drama. He also wrote the screen ...
. The story follows two women living in
Ohio who become unlikely friends over playdates with their respective young daughters during the summer of 1976, the
American Bicentennial. It began previews at the
Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
The Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, formerly the Biltmore Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 261 West 47th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1925, it was designed by Herbert J. Krapp in the neo-Renaissa ...
on April 4, 2023, with an opening date set for April 25.
Production
The play was originally announced to debut in late 2022
Off-Broadway
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
, but in August 2022 it was announced that it would instead receive a
Broadway staging in April 2023 by the
Manhattan Theatre Club, which is producing the show.
The Broadway production stars
Laura Linney
Laura Leggett Linney (born February 5, 1964) is an American actress. Having studied acting at Juilliard School (1986-1990), she became known for her complex and multilayered performances on stage and screen. She has received various accolades, ...
as Diana and
Jessica Hecht as Alice.
directs, with set design by
John Lee Beatty, lighting design by Japhy Weideman, costume design by Linda Cho,
sound design by Jill BC Du Boff, projection design by Hana S. Kim, and original music by Greg Pliska.
The production was set to run from April 25 until May 28 but received two extensions and closed on June 18, 2023.
Premise
Diana, an artist and single mother, and Alice, a free-spirited and naive young housewife, forge an unlikely friendship one night in Ohio.
Awards and nominations
{, class="wikitable"
!Year
!Award
!Category
!Nominee
!Result
, -
, 2023
,
Tony Awards
, Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
, Jessica Hecht
, {{nom
External links
Official website''Summer, 1976'' at the IBDB
References
2023 plays
Broadway plays
Plays set in the 1970s
Plays set in Ohio