“Summer, 1976.” With a title like that, anyone over 65 today immediately tries to recall what he or she was doing then. I don’t even think that the theme of the Bicentennial enters one’s thoughts at first. The play by David Auburn presents us with two women who meet because their young daughters are in the same babysitting co-op. They couldn’t be more different.
Diane (McKenna Kerrigan) is a meticulous, opinionated, rigid artist who teaches art at Ohio State in Columbus. Alice (Grace Gonglewski) is the pot smoking, hippy wife of a man teaching math at the school. In one summer, they connect. And they talk about their lives as their differences erode and they become friends.
We learn about their relationships with men. We learn how they got pregnant. We learn of the cooperative system of childcare established by Alice’s husband, Doug and see its advantages and flaws. And we see the maladies of each- Alice’s allergies and Diane’s migraines. We hear about Merle, the grad student under Doug who is painting his house and learn of his interactions with the women. And we watch as Alice and Diane squabble and the friendship cools.
It is the life story of two women in the summer of 1976. But this can take place any time in the past 50 years, though I expect it would have greater appeal to boomers like me. These are two tales of two women who in their own way are a bit lost and seeking something they cannot define. And while they seem to come together during that summer, the question we ask of ourselves is- do they really?
In fact, of the 90-minute play, they don’t spend 1/3 of it talking to each other. Rather, it is a series of reflections upon their lives and dreams. But they tell it to us, the audience. The play is a series of long monologues. They talk and talk, but they don’t show us what they feel- they tell us, while standing in front of a collection of Artist Paul Klee’s painting on glass. While every word was meaningful, I had to work to stay focused and I noticed a few in the audience with their eyes closed.
The costumes worn by each didn’t reflect the era. The set, with nothing more than chairs, a bench, and a small table in front of the Klee backdrop, didn’t provide me with anything to look at. McKenna Kerrigan and Grace Gonglewski are superb actors, but this play by David Auburn didn’t provide opportunities for Director Kate Galvin to do a lot with the telling of the stories. On the other hand, it is powerfully strong to listen to and would make a great podcast. “Summer, 1976” by David Auburn at Lantern Theater Company at St. Stephen’s Theater, 923 Ludlow St., Philadelphia, PA 19107. 215-829-0399 lanterntheater.org thru October 11, 2026
Philadelphia Theater Reviews by Frank Burd 