Some friendships are instant and others form through an inexplicable connection at just the right time. 

The latter is the case for Laura Latreille as free spirited Alice who meets Lee Mikeska Gardner as intellectual Diana through a babysitting co-op with their two daughters.  The daughters become fast friends and these unfulfilled mothers, fascinated with each other, become friends unexpectedly even in the face of their apparent differences. 

Paula Plum’s engaging direction explores friendship, societal expectations and much more in David Auburn’s dramedy, Summer, 1976 which ran at Central Square Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts through Sunday, November 30.  This candid two hander production contains adult content and runs 90 minutes with no intermission.  Click here for more information about Central Square Theatre and more on their upcoming production, Yellow Bird Chase.

Set in Columbus, Ohio during the Summer of 1976, two households sit side by side.  One is a cheerful yellow while the other is composed of sensible brick.  These distinctive houses by set designer Kristin Loeffler reflect two seemingly contrasting mothers’ personalities destined to become friends.

Justin Lahue’s colorful projections with Deb Sullivan’s illuminative lighting offers vibrancy to Kristin Loeffler’s summer set design through fireworks, sunsets, fireflies, clear blue skies and stoner psychedelic imagery.

Summer, 1976 is a reflective piece driven by a unique narrative.  Instead of two women recalling their own memories individually onstage, they share the stage and react to each other’s animated memories conversationally while correcting and playfully ribbing each other along the way.  The narration is a novel approach and it certainly draws on the compelling chemistry between Latreille’s Alice and Gardner’s Diana.  Their joys, heartbreaks, mischievousness and secrets unfold as the other is engulfed in the other’s story. 

Latreille portrays winsome, bold and seemingly carefree married housewife Alice exuberantly who tries not to think too far ahead while Gardner depicts immaculate, studious and practical single mother Diana who is always thinking ahead and encourages Alice to carefully think about her own future.  Occasionally engaging with the audience, Gardner and Latreille challenge each other while exposing one another’s hypocrisies and mutual stubbornness with a clever twist which changes the way you witness this tale.  It’s an important twist and revelation crucial to keeping this style of storytelling fresh.  From migraines to life changing decisions, these two sincerely root each other on and some of the most fulfilling friendships thrive with tough love under the best intentions.

Taking place during a pivotal and role shifting era for women from the 50s to the 80s, Summer, 1976 insightfully explores these two mothers and their life choices who long to see and understand each other clearly.  It is the kind of familiar camaraderie prevalent in so many important relationships.  I admire the way the production takes a relatable look at friendship and how it evolves throughout the years through a combination of comic and somber moments.  Exploring the joyous and bittersweet, Summer, 1976 delivers a summer not soon forgotten.

David Auburn’s dramedy, Summer, 1976 ran at Central Square Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts through Sunday, November 30.  This candid two hander production contains adult content and runs 90 minutes with no intermission. Click here for further details and more on their upcoming production, Yellow Bird Chase.