Key Takeaways
When & Where: Running now through Sunday, March 1, 2026, at Riverside Center for the Performing Arts in Stafford County.
- What happened: Riverside Center launched a seven-week run of Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, featuring more than 20 of the singer’s biggest hits.
- Why it matters: The production brings a major Broadway musical and the story of a Grammy-winning artist to a local stage during the winter season.
- Who drove the news: Cast members Jahnay Star and Tyandria Jaaber, who portray different stages of Donna Summer’s life.
Full Coverage
The musical traces Donna Summer’s journey from her childhood in Boston to international stardom, using three actresses to represent different stages of her life. At Riverside Center, Jahnay Star portrays “Disco Donna,” the singer at the height of her fame, while Tyandria Jaaber plays “Duckling Donna,” Summer’s younger self, discovering her voice and direction.
The production features more than 20 of Summer’s best-known songs, including “Love to Love You Baby,” “Bad Girls,” “Hot Stuff,” and “Last Dance.” The 90-minute show runs without an intermission.
Star said the role has been years in the making. “Disco Donna has been on my board of dream roles,” she said. “Donna Summer herself means a lot to me. She was the first performer I ever saw live.”
Star told Potomac Local News she opened for Summer as part of a choir when she was a child in Arizona and later watched the concert from the audience. “That was the first concert I ever attended,” she said. “I got to watch her and experience somebody that looks like me doing the things that I wanted to do.”
For Jaaber, playing Duckling Donna connected closely with her own life. “This production came at a really great time for me,” she said. “Playing someone so young, trying to find herself and her love for music, it resonated with me a lot.”
The show is directed by Brittny Benai Smith, who previously performed as the older Donna Summer in the national tour. Star said Smith’s background as a performer shaped the rehearsal process. “She gave me a lot of creative freedom to explore who Donna was,” Star said. “She really understood the performance side of it.”
Jaaber said Smith also helped the cast make thoughtful changes specific to the Riverside production. One example was removing Duckling Donna from a later song that focuses on Summer’s adult struggles. “We all agreed it didn’t make sense for her youngest version to be in that moment,” Jaaber said.
The production also features cast members doubling roles, including Toneisha Jones Harris, who plays both Donna Summer later in life and her mother. Star said the transitions are clear on stage. “There are very clear distinctions between who Mary is and who Donna is,” she said.
Both performers described the show as an escape for audiences during the winter months. “It’s kind of like a giant party,” Jaaber said. “There’s a lot happening in the world right now, and theater can be an escape where people can learn something and feel uplifted.”
Summer: The Donna Summer Musical runs for seven weeks at Riverside Center for the Performing Arts, located in Stafford County, with performances scheduled through March 1, 2026.
> This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Potomac Local News editors for accuracy and clarity.
