Summer, 1976

A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

Summer, 1976

Full-Length Play, Drama  /  2w

Over one summer, two young women in Ohio navigate motherhood, ambition and intimacy, helping each other discover their own independence.

Image: 2023 Manhattan Theatre Club Production (Jeremy Daniel)

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    2w
  • Duration
    Duration
    90 minutes
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult

Details

Summary
A deeply moving, tenderly insightful play about friendship, memory, and the small moments that can change the course of our lives forever. Over one fateful summer, an unlikely friendship develops between Diana, a fiercely iconoclastic artist and single mom, and Alice, a free-spirited yet naive young housewife. As the Bicentennial is celebrated across the United States, these two young women in Ohio navigate motherhood, ambition, and intimacy, and help each other discover their own independence.
History
Summer, 1976 premiered on Broadway at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on 25 April 2023. Directed by Daniel Sullivan, the production starred Jessica Hecht and Laura Linney.
DIANA
ALICE
  • Time Period Contemporary, Present Day
  • Setting Columbus, Ohio (summer, 1976) and New York City (winter, 2003).
  • Features Contemporary Costumes / Street Clothes
  • Additional Features No intermission
  • Duration 90 minutes
  • Cautions
    • Strong Language
    • Mild Adult Themes
    • Smoking

Media

“Sharply observant... a story of profound connection and awakening disquiet.” – The New York Times

Critic's Pick! “[A] bittersweet, comic memory play... a story of profound connection and awakening disquiet... sharply observant, too, and subtly, insistently feminist.” – Laura Collins-Hughes, The New York Times

“Sensitive... a warm and beguiling memory play... The closer you look, and listen, and the more you reflect upon it, the deeper grow its rewards.” – The Wall Street Journal

“Potently affirming... the story’s modesty allows emotion and meaning to suddenly sneak up on you.” – New York Post

“Quietly poignant... captures an experience that’s as universal as it is inexplicable: a friendship that shouldn’t work but does, and that should endure but doesn’t.” – Deadline

“The story that unspools is refreshingly small and intimate... Summer, 1976 highlights how simpler moments and interactions along one's timeline can still have a profound and long-lasting impact — much like the play itself.” – Entertainment Weekly

“Gently affecting... this play about female friendship has a gently moving power.” – The Daily Beast

“Intimate... its quiet revelations about the mysteries of life are powerful.” – New York Daily News

Videos

  • Summer, 1976 – Broadway Trailer youtube thumbnail

    Summer, 1976 – Broadway Trailer

  • Laura Linney and Jessica Hecht discuss Summer, 1976 youtube thumbnail

    Laura Linney and Jessica Hecht discuss Summer, 1976

  • Summer, 1976 – Jessica Hecht youtube thumbnail

    Summer, 1976 – Jessica Hecht

  • Summer, 1976 – Broadway TV Ad youtube thumbnail

    Summer, 1976 – Broadway TV Ad

Photos

  • Summer, 1976

    Image: 2023 Manhattan Theatre Club Production (Jeremy Daniel)

  • Summer, 1976

    Image: 2023 Manhattan Theatre Club Production (Jeremy Daniel)

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: £70 per performance plus VAT when applicable.

Scripts

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Authors

David Auburn

David Auburn’s plays include Summer, 1976; The Adventures of Augie March (based on the Saul Bellow novel); Lost Lake; The Columnist and Proof (2001 Pulitzer Prize, Tony Award, New York Drama Critics Circle Award). Film work includes The Girl in the Park (writer/director), Geo ...
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