Summer, 1976

Ross Zentner
Heidi Armbruster and Colleen Madden (from left) in "Summer, 1976."
Heidi Armbruster and Colleen Madden (from left) in "Summer, 1976," Forward Theater Company, 2025.
Forward Theater continues its run of contemporary plays with Summer, 1976 by playwright David Auburn (Proof). Set in the summer of America’s bicentennial, this memory play focuses on two women in Ohio who meet during a kids' playdate and become friends. The decade of the '70s — a high point for feminism in one way — also limits their possibilities and ambitions. Actors Colleen Madden and Heidi Armbruster (who wrote Forward’s last play, Murder Girl) play the lead roles of Alice and Diane, and, in a tour de force twist, switch their roles in alternating performances. Performances at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday, and 2 p.m. on Feb. 8 and 15.
media release: For their third production in the 2024-25 season, Forward Theater Company will present Summer, 1976 by David Auburn. Directed by Laura Gordon and Laura Rook. Performances are in the Playhouse at Overture Center for the Arts, January 30 – February 16. The play features Colleen Madden and Heidi Armbruster, who will be alternating roles during the run.
This will be the Wisconsin premiere of Summer, 1976, which enjoyed an extended run on Broadway in the spring of 2023.
Sometimes friendships are all the fireworks you need. The summer of America’s Bicentennial finds Diana, an artist, and Alice, a professor’s wife, thrown together through a faculty babysitting co-op at Ohio State. As they navigate migraines and marriage crises, tantrums and road trips, they build an expansive and intimate friendship as full of possibility, and as fleeting, as summer.
Summer, 1976 features Colleen Madden and Heidi Armbruster.
Scenic Designer: Jason Fassl
Lighting & Projection Designer: Jason Fassl
Costume Designer: Shelley Cornia
Composer/Sound Designer: Joe Cerqua
Props Master: Kaya Sarajian
Technical Director: Adam Hastings
Stage Manager: Shawn Galligan
Asst. Stage Manager: Abbi Hess
Tickets are on sale now, and can be purchased online at forwardtheater.com, or via overture.org. Tickets start at $46, can be purchased via phone at 608.258.4141. Discounts available.
Summer, 1976 is generously sponsored by Steve & Jacqui Suleski, and Our Lives Magazine.