Summer, 1976 (Broadway) NYC Reviews and Tickets
About the Show
Production Covid-19 Safety ProtocolsShow-Score Member Reviews (334)
See it if You like stories about friendships.
Don't see it if You are looking for a play full of movement and effects! Read more
See it if Maybe b/c I was in college in 1976 & I'm a woman this play hit a sweet spot - absolutely perfect evening of theater -both actors outstanding
Don't see it if You're bored with two-actor plays or can't/won't relate to the story of women friends. You'll be missing out on an exquisitely written play Read more
See it if Fabulous story nuanced acting that reminds us how fragile our relationships are and not to take life for granted.
Don't see it if You want a fluffy musical this is a wonderful bittersweet story
See it if you like shows about everyday people with a relatively insignificant story yet is super relatable
Don't see it if you think you'll get bored because this show is not flashy at all. It's like being in a conversation, eventually you may get bored
See it if you want to see two great actors in a good play
Don't see it if you want to see a more traditional play
See it if You love pitch perfect dialogue so skillfully delivered you almost forget this a play and these are lines.
Don't see it if I don't know who would not enjoy this. While there were definitely a lot of women of a certain age in the audience, my husband loved it too. Read more
See it if you want to see two Tony award winning (though, only 1 was nominated) performances and a play about friendship that will make you think.
Don't see it if you only like musicals or cannot tolerate a play about two women being friends. Read more
See it if you want to see 2 of our greatest actresses at work with beautiful dialogue
Don't see it if you don't like 2 person talkative shows
Critic Reviews (24)
CRITIC’S PICK: “If ‘Summer, 1976’ feels too comfortable to be fashionable, it’s sharply observant, too, and subtly, insistently feminist — more than the wisp of a two-hander that it might first appear to be.”
Read more
“I don’t regret the 90 minutes I spent at this smoothly rendered memory play. But already, I struggle a bit to remember it. ”
Read more
“...’Summer, 1976,’ a pleasant wisp of a play with an A-list pedigree that has all the dramatic heft of catching a few rays...this new work provides a not-so-surprising reminder about a simple fact of life. People come into our lives and then they go, but they leave a mark – whether we want to acknowledge that or not.”
Read more
“They don’t experience anything grandly triumphant or devastating, but the play offers the challenge of sitting quietly, meeting them at their level, and considering what is big from that vantage.”
Read more
“...the play is small in scale—just two characters, coming in at 90 minutes—unusual in its design, and filled with interesting detail. The closer you look, and listen, and the more you reflect upon it, the deeper grow its rewards.”
Read more
“Broadway can be a loud place, with belters belting and orchestras swelling and actors playing to rafters in the theater across the street, so it’s both comforting and mesmerizing to see a play as quietly poignant as David Auburn’s ’Summer, 1976.’ ”
Read more
“It breaks some of the spell of empathy and shared experience, which may well have been fully intentional. A tilt toward a crucial spark, then, but not as helpful as really catching summer heat.”
Read more
“There’s not one false note in director Daniel Sullivan’s clear direction or in the natural yet precise performances of Linney and Hecht, who are working at the top of their game and together offer a master class in acting.”
Read more