Toot toot, beep beep! Summer: The Donna Summer Musical has officially landed on Broadway. When the show opened on Tuesday night at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, Naomi Campbell, Tommy and Dee Hilfiger, Jimmy Fallon, Rosie O’Donnell, Marisa Tomei, Danielle Brooks, and Gayle King were all in the audience to see what is being billed as “a concert of a lifetime.” Everyone got out of their seats a number of times throughout the jukebox tribute about the late Queen of Disco. Directed by Des McAnuff and led by three Donnas to represent different stages, there is mature Donna (LaChanze), young adult Donna (Ariana DeBose), and preteen Donna (Storm Lever). Naturally, there was no shortage of platinum hits or sequins to play out on stage. In fact, many showgoers also opted to pay homage to the music legend in their own spangly ensembles befitting a romp at Studio 54—and certainly the after-party that went down on the top floor of the Marriott Marquis hotel.
As Summer once said herself, “I wasn’t just at the party, I was the party.” Fitting then that the Broadway Lounge, with its 360-degree views of the Manhattan skyline, was transformed into a ’70s-era nightclub of sorts, replete with disco balls, rainbow lights, and a seemingly endless supply of glitter. Well, almost. Servers handed out flutes of pink Champagne with a dash of edible sparkle on top—a specialty cocktail that proved so popular they swiftly ran out of shimmer. (Fortunately, there was plenty on the cake, which was printed with Summer’s face in sugary icing and sprinkles made to look like the stage lights she performed under.)