GableStage’s ‘Summer, 1976’ in the Miami Herald

In the summer of 1976, Jimmy Carter is nominated for president at the Democratic National Convention in New York and Gerald Ford edges out Ronald Reagan to win the Republican Party presidential nomination, Bruce Jenner wins the gold medal at the Summer Olympics, and on July 4, the United States celebrates its bicentennial.

In David Auburn’s play, “Summer, 1976,” none of this nor any other news of the day is mentioned, not at great length anyway. It’s more personal than that — a slice of life about two women who meet when their young daughters become fast friends at a playdate. GableStage’s production of “Summer, 1976” plays through Sunday, April 20 in Coral Gables.

As we get immersed in the daily lives of Diana and Alice in Columbus, Ohio, in the summer of 1976, we realize that we all have a memory of one person or perhaps a few whose fleeting time in our lives had a lasting impact. “Summer, 1976” is a play about those kinds of relationships.

In GableStage director Bari Newport’s program notes, there’s a photo of the director with a friend and a caption that reads, in part, “we lived across from each other in Columbus, Ohio, from 1978-1982.” The photo of them is “years later as adults.” (The playwright is also originally from Columbus)

“Friendship can be as fleeting as a summer thunderstorm,” writes Newport, “quick to appear, electric in its intensity, and gone before we realize its impact.”

It’s a good summation of the 90-minute two-hander.