LaChanze, Ariana DeBose & Storm Lever will star in Summer - The Donna Summer Musical on Broadway

Producers of Summer - The Donna Summer Musical announce principal casting for the Broadway transfer.

Tony Award winner LaChanze, Ariana DeBose, and Storm Lever are all set to star as Donna Summer in the Broadway transfer of Summer - The Donna Summer Musical, which begins previews at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on March 28, 2018, before an official opening on April 23. Reprising their roles from the pre-Broadway engagement at La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego, LaChanze will play "Diva Donna," whilst Ms. DeBose will star as "Disco Donna" and Ms. Lever as "Duckling Donna" in the jukebox musical.

LaChanze won a Tony Award in 2006 for her performance as Celie in the Broadway premiere of The Color Purple and earned a 1991 Tony nomination for originating the role of Ti Moune in Once on This Island. She has also appeared on the Great White Way in If/Then, Ragtime, Company, Dreamgirls, and her Broadway debut in Uptown...It's Hot!

Ariana DeBose was most recently seen on Broadway as Jane in A Bronx Tale - The Musical and has also appeared in the Broadway productions of Hamilton, Pippin, Motown The Musical, and Bring It On - The Musical.

Summer marks the Broadway debut for Storm Lever, who is perhaps best known for her role as Savannah in Freaky Friday at La Jolla Playhouse and the Signature Theatre in Virginia.

Additional casting will be announced at a later date.

With songs from the back-catalogue of the five-time Grammy Award-winner, Summer tells the story of Donna Summer, who, after selling 140 million records worldwide, was one of the best-selling artists of all time. She was known for her hits "Love to Love You Baby," "Hot Stuff," "Bad Girls," and "MacArthur Park," among many others.

Summer - The Donna Summer Musical tells her story through the setting of her last ever concert, and delves into her repertoire, featuring more than 20 of the singer's biggest hits, with three actresses playing the title role in the show.

The production has a book by Colman Domingo, Robert Cary and Des McAnuff, with songs by Donna Summer, Giorgio Moroder, Paul Jabara and others. It will be directed by Des McAnuff and choreographed by Sergio Trujillo, with music supervision by Ron Melrose, scenic design by Robert Brill, costume design by Paul Tazewell, lighting design by Howell Binkley, sound design by Gareth Owen and projection design by Sean Nieuwenhuis.