‘Summer’ Brings the Heat to Toby’s

L-R Gracious Ndungu, Tierra Strickland & Aniyah Serrell Lee

Looking for some Hot Stuff?  Heaven Knows you will Stomp Your Feet after they Dim All the Lights as Bad Girls will give you Unconditional Love singing songs you already heard On the Radio, and to be sure, it won’t be the Last Dance. These favorites and lots more associated with the “Queen of Disco” Donna Summer come to life at Toby’s, the Dinner Theatre of Columbia with its presentation of Summer: The Donna Summer Musical.

Toby’s has presented several exceptional jukebox musicals in the recent past including Mamma Mia!, Jersey Boys, Rock of Ages, among others.  Summer is no exception with its incredible song catalogue, outstanding performers, and brilliant lighting design and effects that enhance the production. Co-directors Jessica Bennett and Helen Hayes Award winner Mark Minnick lead a talent-rich cast through this stunning show.

The musical features a book by Colman Domingo, Robert Cary, and Des McAnuff and music and lyrics by Donna Summer, Giorgio Moroder, Pete Bellotte, Paul Jabara, and others. It is based on the life of Summer who was originally from Boston and began in a gospel choir before becoming arguably the most popular diva during the disco era of the seventies and early eighties. A whopping 42 of Donna Summer’s singles made it to the Billboard Hot 100 list with 14 finding its place in their Top 10. And in the period from 1975 to 1984, Summer had a Top 10 hit in each year.

Where the musical truly dominates is its score. Packed with over 20 iconic hits—including “Bad Girls,” “Hot Stuff,” “MacArthur Park,” and “Last Dance”—the music is infectious. To be clear, Summer: The Donna Summer Musical is not a concert though 23 of her songs are included in a tight production whereby many are not sung through to completion under the meticulous direction of Ms. Bennett and Mr. Minnick and the excellent five-piece orchestra conducted by Ross Scott Rawlings. Mark Smedley’s sterling sound design is a major factor in the production.

The cast of Summer: The Donna Summer Musical

Songs are cleverly woven to anchor key life events; those performed are not in chronological order of their release but rather tied to a particular event in Summer’s life. For instance, the legal battle with her exploitative record label is dynamically set to “She Works Hard for the Money.” Meanwhile, her survival of severe domestic abuse and a near-suicide attempt is balanced by the empowering, defiant architecture of “No More Tears (Enough Is Enough).”

Ms. Bennett’s choreography is imaginative and perfectly suited to the in-the-round stage at Toby’s. A wide variety of dance steps and moves used in these eclectic songs are performed by an exuberant ensemble throughout. “Stamp Your Feet” and “Hot Stuff” are first-rate examples.  

If there is a flaw it is with the pace of the book written by Domingo, Cary, and McAnuff in that the production treats Summer’s immense life like a rapid-fire montage. It touches heavily on traumatic milestones—including childhood sexual abuse, severe addiction, and her battle with lung cancer—but flashes past them so quickly that the emotional weight sometimes fails to land before the next dance beat drops.

"Co-directors Jessica Bennett and Helen Hayes Award winner Mark Minnick lead a talent-rich cast through this stunning show."

Summer’s hits are presented through a musical biography representing three stages of her life: Duckling Donna (Gracious Ndungu) in her pre-teens, the young, aspirational Boston girl finding her voice through gospel music; Disco Donna (Aniyah Serrell Lee) in her late teens and early 20’s, the rising superstar navigating the drug-fueled, high-stakes music industry of the 1970s; and climaxing with Diva Donna (Tierra Strickland) in her 50’s, the seasoned vocalist reflecting on her legacy, surviving trauma, and looking back at her life from her final concert tour.

Born LaDonna Adrian Gaines, Summer’s life’s story was a rollercoaster of highs and lows even with her incredible professional success.  Through dramatic dialogue and clever quips, we meet the folks who were part of that rollercoaster.

Resolved to prove herself, Donna moves from Boston to Germany to Los Angeles as her career took off with the hit single “Love to Love You Baby”.

The Donnas singing "Last Dance"

From her parents to producers, to studio execs, musicians, agents, lawyers, lovers and her husband, we get to know Donna Summer as the person behind the mic and what she endured through her journey that ended in 2012 at the age of 64 from lung cancer. Tierra Strickland, who plays Diva Donna to perfection, characterizes Summer’s life aptly by confessing, “Sometimes I feel like Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz. Other times I just feel like Judy Garland.”

Ms. Strickland, armed with a glorious voice, and an abundance of sass, also provides some narration and commentary as the story moves from one phase of Summer’s life to another. She is particularly strong in the memorable “I Feel Love” and the production numbers “Stamp Your Feet” and “MacArthur Park” as well as in several other group numbers. Her sensational number is "Friends Unknown." 

Also superb in her vocals is Aniyah Serrell Lee as Disco Donna.  As the “Donna” during the height of her career, Ms. Lee performs in the majority of the songs. Her voice is so good that she can cut an album without any worry. “Love to Love You Baby,” “Heaven Knows,” “Dim All the Lights” and “Hot Stuff” are examples where Ms. Lee shines. But her emotion-packed rendition of “I Believe in Jesus” brought the house down.

Gracious Ndungu as young Duckling Donna is another gifted vocalist and ably solos in “On My Honor” and participates in several group numbers.

All three combine superbly for the dramatic “No More Tears (Enough is Enough)” performed following a domestic violence incident experienced by Summer. When these three actresses harmonize simultaneously in striking shades of blue, the vocal power is nothing short of spine-tingling. The production brilliantly uses this triad to frame her inner thoughts, turning simple duets or trios into deeply layered emotional moments.

Aniyah Serrell Lee and Zachary Spafford singing "Heaven Knows"

The remainder of the company is excellent in its acting, singing, dancing and stage presence with many performing multiple roles. A full listing of the cast, crew and musicians is shown at the end of the review.

Adding vitality to the hue-rich production is the superb lighting designed by Lynn Joslin. Combined with the set designed by Shane Lowry, which incorporates digital lighting panels along the theater’s walls and bright lights on the staircases, the blinking lighting effects in combination with the multiple disco balls hanging from the ceiling give off an authentic disco vibe. This was so vividly highlighted during the number “Hot Stuff.”  The set pieces were interesting as well that included among others two cars and a casket.

Sarah King and Rose Ryon effectively outfitted the cast in period attire, and the shimmering gowns worn by the leads are dazzling.

Jayson Kueberth worked hard for the money in designing all those wigs.

Folks who remember the disco era certainly will enjoy the music presented in Summer: The Donna Summer Musical. For my part, as I listened to the wonderful performers bringing back those memories of the disco era, I tried to recall where I was when I first heard the song played on the radio or where I danced to the beats. I’m sure I was not alone.

As evidenced by the enthusiastic reaction by Toby’s audience, there continues to be a longing for disco music especially by those who were around then. The late Donna Summer along with the Bee Gees embodied that sound as much as any from the genre. It is a visually spectacular, joyous feast of nostalgia that will leave you dancing at your tables, which would help work off the scrumptious buffet.

Running time. Two hours and 20 minutes with an intermission.

Advisory: Strobe, fog and haze effects.

Summer: The Donna Summer Musical plays through November 1 at Toby’s the Dinner Theatre, 4900 Symphony Woods Rd., Columbia, MD 21044.  Tickets may be purchased by calling the box office at 410-730-8311 or visiting Toby's website.

Photos: Jeri Tidwell Photography

The menu is shown here.

Specialty Drink: The Bad Girl

Next Up: White Christmas from November 6, 2026, to January 10, 2027.

Donna Summer’s Ups and Downs with the Queer Community

Though touched upon during the show, it is important to note Donna Summer’s complex and circuitous relationship with the LGBTQ+ community. She built up an enthusiastic fanbase within the community in her early disco years that originated in underground LGBTQ+ dance clubs. That launched her career as the “Queen of Disco.” But comments she allegedly made in 1983 during the AIDS crisis produced a vehement backlash.
She was accused of telling the audience, “God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve,” and supposedly implying that AIDS was God’s punishment for homosexuality.

Crucially, no video or audio recordings exist to prove Summer ever made those comments. For the rest of her life, Summer fiercely denied the allegations, attributing them to a terrible misunderstanding or a complete fabrication.

While many in the community remained unforgiving, behind the scenes she raised funds towards AIDS research and deeply grieved the loss of her many close, queer friends to the disease. –SC