Exclusive: Ariana Debose Talks Summer: The Donna Summer MusicalPosted by Wilson Morales
April 30, 2018
Currently playing on Broadway at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre is the sensational Summer: The Donna Summer Musical with Tony Award winner LaChanze, Hamilton and A Bronx Tale alum Ariana DeBose, and newcomer Storm Lever reprising their same roles they had when they performed at the La Jolla Playhouse world premiere.
Each shares the role of the disco star, portraying her at various stages of her life and career. LaChanze plays “Diva Donna,” who shares her life story with the audience. DeBose plays Summer at the height of her Studio 54 days as “Disco Donna,” and Lever is portraying the youngest Donna—“Duckling Donna.”
She was a girl from Boston with a voice from heaven, who shot through the stars from gospel choir to dance floor diva. But what the world didn’t know was how Donna Summer risked it all to break through barriers, becoming the icon of an era, and the supreme queen for every diva who followed. With a score featuring more than 20 of Summer’s classic hits including “Love to Love You, Baby;” “Bad Girls” and “Hot Stuff,” this electric experience is a moving tribute to the voice of a generation.
For DeBose, this marks another star vehicle for the North Carolina native. DeBose (Disco Donna) recently wrapped up her run as Jane in Chazz Palminteri’s A Bronx Tale directed by Jerry Zaks and Robert De Niro. Her other credits include Hamilton (Off-Broadway and original Broadway cast), Leading Player in the Tony Winning revival of Pippin, Mary Wilson of The Supremes (Diana Ross cover) in Motown, Nautica in Andy Blankenbuhler’s Bring It On the Musical and Sondheim’s Company with the NY Philharmonic. Her TV credits include: “Blue Bloods” (CBS), “The Breaks” (VH1), “SYTYCD” top 20 season 6 (Fox) & “OLTL” Star Crossed Lovers Series.
Blackfilm.com recently caught up with DeBose as she spoke about playing one of the Donnas and what makes her songs special for theater.
How did the role come about for you?
Ariana DeBose: It felt like happenstance to be perfectly honest. I was finishing my run in Hamilton and I was getting ready to move to Los Angeles. I had gone in for this audition because it was a workshop at the time. I was like, “I don’t even look like Donna Summer.” I may sound like her but I surely don’t look like her at all. She’s much taller than I am so this is a crapshoot, but hey why not. I ended up getting the job. I couldn’t believe it. I was so shocked. I got the job on Tony weekend. I was dealing with everything that was going on with Hamilton and then i found out I got the job, which was special.
With three parts to Donna Summer, did you know which part you would be playing?
Ariana DeBose: I knew that they had hired me to play Disco but I hadn’t seen a script at the time. I didn’t know what all of it entailed. I knew the scenes I had read because they actually had me read for all three parts. I knew I had booked Disco but I wasn’t 100% sure how much she did in the show.
How much did you know about Donna Summer besides the music?
Ariana DeBose: I didn’t know much about her personal life. I did know her music and I recognized her voice immediately but the extent of my experience with her up to a point was through my mother in my living room at age 8. That’s what I knew about Donna Summer. When I started looking into her for the show, that’s when I began to find an understanding of who she was as a human. I loved that she was an artist and that she painted and had several exhibitions in her career. I thought it humanized her. I also loved that she started in theater. Some of her first jobs were musicals. Granted, they were in Europe, but they were musicals and they were exciting to me.
Can you talk about working with LaChanze and Storm Lever and bonding over the process?
Ariana DeBose: First and foremost, both of them are absolute powerhouses in their own right. LaChanze is a legend in our community. just the fact that I get to walk in everyday and have a conversation with her is really cool and I love to be able to observe and watch her work and learn how she leads a company. That’s been very exciting to me. And with Storm Lever, I can’t believe this is her Broadway debut and how beautifully it sets her up. Not only is she one of the kindest individuals, she’s incredibly talented. I wish people could see the way she conducts herself because she’s a vision. As far as bonding goes, we took to each other immediately, which I think is the sign of a good match. Especially when we were out in California. We would go out and have dinner and at the end of the show, we would debrief together. As fas as us in a room, that’s what’s telling about us. There’s not a moment we didn’t spend talking about Donna and that’s everything from her music to “did you watch this interview?” or “did you see this thing?” or “did you pick up on this body language?” We made Donna our goal and paying tribute to her was the focus. That’s where we bonded and that was really fun.
There are a lot of legendary singers and we’ve seen on Broadway a number of shows based on some of them. What do you think puts Donna Summer in the same class?
Ariana DeBose: I think people like what’s familiar. People enjoy feeling nostalgic. That’s a good thing in my opinion. We’ve had musicals like Motown and the Carole King musical. It gives people the opportunity to remember the life that they had lived and you remember the good times and they get to experience something that takes them away from whatever it is that is troubling them. That’s why I think people come to see these musicals, especially in 2018. There is so much going on in the world that is not necessarily positive. I think the fact that they can come to our theater and relive Donna Summer’s music and jam and dance in the aisle like they do every night and sing along with us, I think it’s a really positive thing because it’s about joy. People need joy at every opportunity that they can find it.
In a short amount of time, you’ve worked your way up from understudy to leading role. How does that make you feel?
Ariana DeBose: I take such pride in it. I really do. My mom is a public school teacher. She still is and she was a single parent as she was raising me. She taught me the value of hard work and I can safely say that I’ve really worked hard at every single phase of my still fledging career. When I entered the workforce, and that was after So You Think You Can Dance. I came to New York City. I started out as a principal feature, and went into Motown and I was in the ensemble and covered the leading lady. Then I continued to be an understudy and cover and I value those years so much because each and every one was so different and they taught me a lot. A lot of which I carried to this job. The long and short of an answer is that I’m so proud as to how far I have come. If you saw me in Bring It On until now, I’m a completely different performer, a completely different artist and most importantly, a completely different human and that’s what I hope to continue through my career. That growth, that change, and to constantly challenge myself.
What’s your favorite Donna Summer song?
Ariana DeBose: People really love it when we start singing “On The Radio.” They are like, “There it is.” I think my personal favorite is “MacArthur Park.” I literally danced around my bedroom to that song more times than I can count. The fact that I get to sing that every night brings me such joy, such personal joy, and thrilled that people like the way I sound on it!
