‘Summer: The Donna Summer Musical’ brings trio of disco divas to Wichita’s Century II

Brittny Smith is one of three actresses to play the title role in “Summer: The Donna Summer Musical,” a Broadway in Wichita tour stop this week at Century II.

While other stage representations of a performer’s life will have one actor playing the role over decades of time, “Summer” breaks the singer’s life into three portions: Duckling Donna (representing her early years in Boston), Disco Donna (when she began to amass hits in the ‘70s) and Diva Donna, representing the latter years of her career.

“I think it’s interesting to have the perspective of three different actresses,” said Smith, who plays Diva Donna. “We use three actresses to kind of give more of a realistic sense of where she was during that time and what she was thinking about. There’s this through-line narrative so the audience gets to connect in that way versus having someone speak about it where you don’t really get to see it acted out physically.”

“Summer” premiered at California’s La Jolla Playhouse in 2017, followed the next year by a 289-show performance on Broadway. The cast for a tour was assembled in early 2019, but pandemic delays forced its opening to mid-November. Smith’s role is one of many that was recast from the original tour ensemble.

From a tour stop from Utica, New York, Smith said that having three actresses helps show the complete story of Donna Summer, one that even the most ardent fans might not know.

“This story, this show, is a celebration of Donna Summer’s life and her legacy, her music, of course,” she said. “But we really talk heavily about her story. We show the audience things they didn’t know about her, so you’re not seeing just one actress speaking about where she was at the time, what she was thinking, you see the physical manifestation of it. There are really some pivotal things happening in her childhood, in her childhood, and as a mother and a wife.”

As Diva Donna, Smith is somewhat of a narrator of “Summer” and even plays the singer’s mother in opening scenes.

“You really get to see Donna’s life and Donna’s legacy through different lenses,” Smith said.

“Summer” features two dozen of Summer’s hits, including “Last Dance,” “Hot Stuff,” “Love to Love You Baby” and “On the Radio.”

On several of the hits, including “MacArthur Park” and “No More Tears (Enough is Enough),” all three of the Donnas share the stage.

“You really get to see the Donnas come together in that unified element,” Smith said. “You can kind of see us representing this one powerhouse entity, but there are also songs in the show that are more appropriate for their age group.”

A self-described “early ‘80s baby,” Smith recalls Saturday morning cleaning sessions with her mother – a jazz vocalist who could play six instruments – at their Houston home.

Smith also got to see Summer, who died of lung cancer in 2012 at age 63, twice in concert in the ‘90s.

“I have a pretty good gauge of who she was, or at least the music that she made and the interviews she’s done,” Smith said of her research for the role.

Smith went to a performing arts school and amassed film and TV credits over 7-8 years. She also played basketball and ran track as a youth.

“My parents literally said, whatever you want to do, whatever you’re good at, let’s expose you to it,” she said.

Smith also played guitar and piano, and for five years in her early 20s was the lead singer for the R&B trio Lady Lux, founded and managed by Mathew Knowles, Beyonce’s father and the manager of Destiny’s Child.

“They were trying to push off the next wave of singers,” Smith said.

Her varied resume has also included being a dancer for the Houston Rockets NBA team and a dancer in Step Africa, which led her to the East Coast.

“I’ve touched different sectors of the industry,” she said.

Smith said she’s enjoying life on the road and the wisdom that comes with playing the elder Summer.

“That’s what’s great about Diva Donna’s role – she is wise and sassy and still sexy,” Smith said. “She has been through the most.”

‘Summer: The Donna Summer Story’

When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, Dec. 14-16

Where: Century II Concert Hall, 225 W. Douglas

Tickets: $46-$126, at wichitatix.com, at the Century II box office or 316-303-8100