The Hills of California

 The Hills of California
Broadhurst Theatre
November 16, 2024 

Photo courtesy of The Hills of California

Jez Butterworth’s The Hills of California is a heartbreaking journey through the shattered dreams of four sisters.  Director Sam Mendes explores the rhythm inherent in Mr. Butterworth’s writing to accentuate the poignant moments and delve into the truths of the story.  The large cast works beautifully together, evoking a genuine ambiance of Blackpool, England in 1955 and 1976.  The set spins and time seamlessly shifts, bridging the emotional correlation of past and present.

Jill (played by Helena Wilson) is having the piano tuned in the Seaview Rooming House as the nurse, Penny (played by Ta’rea Campbell), is giving her the latest update on her mother’s condition.  She can pass at any time from her battle with cancer, yet Jill is desperate for her mother to hang on until her oldest sister, Joan (played by Laura Donnelly), arrives from California.  Her youngest sister, Ruby (played by Ophelia Lovibond), is there with her husband (played by Bryan Dick).  When her older sister, Gloria (played by Leanne Best) arrives, she is ragging on her husband (played by Richard Short) and her two teenage children (played by Nancy Allsop and Liam Bixby).  She quickly turns her malice onto Jill and Ruby.  

Photo courtesy of The Hills of California

Time shifts back to 1955.  The four sisters (played by Nancy Allsop, Nicola Turner, Sophia Ally, and Lara McDonnell) are rehearsing their Andrew Sister’s routine with their mother, Veronica (played by Laura Donnelly).  She is a serious task master, and the girls are hard workers.  One of the boarders, Jack Larkin (played by Bryan Dick), arranges an audition for the girls with Perry Como’s manager, Luther St. John (played by David Wilson Barnes).  He informs Veronica that the material in the girls’ act is out of date, and only one of them has star potential.  The events that follow change the lives of the family, yet not in the way they hoped.

Leanne Best, Ophelia Lovibons, Helena Wilson, & Laura Donnelly
Photo courtesy of The Hills of California

Mr. Butterworth’s writing is honest and prolific.  The characters are distinct, truthful, and empathetic.  Each are brutally affected by the events that took place in 1955.  They are haunted by their past, and no matter how hard some of them try, they cannot escape.  Helena Wilson portrays Jill with optimism and hope.  She never left the family home and holds onto the joyful memories that bonded her to her sisters when they were performing together.  Leanne Best does not hold back in showing Gloria’s resentment and bitterness.  Her fire fuels the conflict between the sisters.  Ophelia Lovibond’s Ruby is both naive and knowledgeable.  She knows how to get what she wants, yet she wears her heart on her sleeve.  

Joan finally arrives during Act III, and the sisters must face the truth… and themselves.  Laura Donnelly is grounded and fully exposed in her portrayal of this character.  She weaves wild tales of success and failure.  Some are true and some are lies, yet they all emotionally engage her sisters.  What these four characters reveal and how they open up when they are finally united is riveting.  The final moment is simple and powerful. 

The Hills of California is playing at the Broadhurst Theatre through December 22.  Don’t miss it! 

Domenick Danza

Tin Church

 Tin Church
Off the Wall Productions
Chain Theatre
November 9, 2024

Photo courtesy of Off the Wall Productions

Playwright Robyne Parrish explores the traumatic effect of abuse in her play Tin Church.  She creates a haunting atmosphere where dreams and memories collide, giving the characters places to hide their secrets.  They are inevitably uncovered, yet never fully admitted to.

We first meet the characters, Mary (played by Marguerite Stimpson) and her younger sisters, Linda (played by Christina Perry) and Sue (played by Lilly Tobin), during a dream.  Mary says it’s her dream, yet her sisters think it’s theirs.  Later, Mary writes a letter to her cousin, thanking her for coming to her grandmother’s funeral.  Mary and her sisters discuss the items they took from their grandmother’s house after her funeral.  When Mary’s mother, Mildred (played by Virginia Wall Gruenert), is sitting with her girls on the porch, she asks Sue to bring their Daddy, who is up in his room, sick, a glass of sweet tea.  First, Mildred adds extra sugar.  The girls say it’s too much.  Later, Mildred has a dream.  Mary comes to her room at night because she can’t sleep.  Mary tells her mother that she saw her grandmother and her Daddy taking a nap together.  Mildred asks Mary if this is a dream or a memory. 

Lilly Tobin, Marguerite Stimpson, & Christina Perry
Photo courtesy of Off the Wall Productions

The ninety-five-minute play continues with these fragmented dream/memory scenes that create an unsettled atmosphere.  Piece by piece things start to connect.  The physical, sexual, and emotional abuse these women experienced is so overwhelming that none of the characters can face it.  They each cover it up in their own way, adding layers of trauma.

This cast, under the direction of the playwright, does a phenomenal job of telling this multi-layered story.  They create honest moments and truthful relationships that reveal the underlying story of their experiences.  The audience connects the images from the dreams and memories to the interactions of the characters in real time.  Marguerite Stimpson’s Mary is always looking out, searching for something.  Christina Perry’s Linda drinks too much and pushes her sisters’ buttons.  Lilly Tobin’s Sue is overly sensitive and wound way too tight.  Their real time scenes are full of conflict, which is reflected in the haunting manner of the dream sequences.  

Lilly Tobin, Virginia Wall Gruenert, Christina Perry, & Marguerite Stimpson
Photo courtesy of Off the Wall Productions

Virginia Wall Gruenert plays Mildred as a grounded matron for the family.  When we realize what she’s been doing when sweetening her husband’s tea, we understand that groundedness is not rooted in sanity.

The heartbreak of this story is how this family trauma remains unresolved at the end of the play.  Two of the characters, Linda and Sue, have children of their own.  They argue over who is more like their mother.  It is astounding how much of this pattern will be passed down to the next generation, as it was passed on to these women. 

Tin Church is playing at Chain Theatre through November 23. 

Domenick Danza

The Blood Quilt

 The Blood Quilt
Lincoln Center Theater
at the Mitzi E. Newhouse
November 5, 2024

Photo courtesy of Lincoln Center Theater

Katori Hall’s new play, The Blood Quilt, tells the story of four sisters holding onto their heritage and treasured family traditions, while facing their dark truths.  The Lincoln Center Theater production is beautifully designed and skillfully presented.  Director Lileana Blain-Cruz gives this phenomenal cast of five the space and freedom to dive deep and deliver soulful performances.  They create honest family bonds that are filled with love, resentment, and acceptance.  The atmosphere is pure and genuine, grounded in family memories and ancestral history.

Four sisters come together in their family home in Kwemera Island off the coast of Georgia to sew one final quilt to honor the passing of their mother.  Clementine, the oldest (played by Crystal Dickinson), took care of their mother in her final days.  She longs to keep their quilting tradition alive.  Gio, the second daughter (played by Adrienne C. Moore), is brutally honest, drinks too much beer, and carries a dark secret.  Cassan (played by Susan Kelechi Watson) arrives with her teenage daughter, Zambia (played by Mirirai), who is all about putting her life on social media, and recently decided to be Muslim.  They are all surprised when their youngest sister, Amber (played by Lauren E. Banks), shows up for the quilting circle.  She is a successful entertainment lawyer in Los Angeles, and missed the funeral three weeks earlier.  Zambia always idolized her Auntie Amber, and is very happy to see her.  However, her presence sets Gio off, forcing Clementine and Cassan to play referee.  

The Cast of The Blood Quilt
Photo courtesy of Lincoln Center Theater

The stories of the family quilts are shared as the sisters start on their project.  Each quilt holds pieces of the people who worked on them, and they are all signed in blood.  When their mother’s will is read, old resentments rise to the surface.  On top of that, Clementine tells them that they owe over $250,000 in back taxes on the house and property.  As they try to solve that problem, Gio reveals her secret, which sets off a wave of honesty that could put a severe rift in their bond.

These five women are amazing in these roles.  Their characters are powerfully written and highly detailed.  Each has a backstory that makes them distinct against the family heritage that connects them.  Chrystal Dickinson is grounded as Clementine.  Adrienne C. Moore is fierce as Gio.  Susan Kelechi Watson portrays Cassan as steady and firm.  Lauren E. Bank’s Amber comes off as the successful, perfect daughter, then shows the crack that makes her human and flawed.  Mirirai plays the young Zambia as fearless and headstrong. 

The Blood Quilt is a poignant story, carefully crafted, and compassionately delivered.  It is playing at Lincoln Center’s Mitzie E. Newhouse Theater through December 29.  Don’t miss it!

Domenick Danza

Death Becomes Her

 Death Becomes Her
Lunt-Fontainne Theatre
November 2, 2024 

Photo courtesy of Death Becomes Her

Death Becomes Her is a bold and brassy new Broadway musical, based on the 1992 movie of the same title.  The music and lyrics, by Julia Mattison and Noel Carey, are dazzling, energetic, and zestful.  The songs both drive the plot and offer an insightful look into the characters.  Marco Pennette’s book is crisp, campy, and full of one-liners that bring the house down.  Christopher Gattelli’s direction is fast paced, and his choreography is vigorous.  It keeps the audience fully engaged.  The cast is great, and the ensemble creates an atmosphere that allows the audience to joyfully buy into the magic and mystery of the storyline.

Helen Sharp (played by Jennifer Simard) introduces her life-long friend and two-time Academy Award nominated actress, Madeline Ashton (played by Megan Hilty), to her fiancé, Ernest Menville (played by Christopher Sieber).  At first, Madeline is not impressed.  She then finds out that Ernest is a plastic surgeon.  She immediately puts her hooks into him, and steals him from Helen.  This is the last straw for Helen, who has suffered from Madeline’s petty jealousies for decades.  She winds up in a mental hospital, and vows to seek revenge. 

Megan Hilty & Jennifer Simard
Photo courtesy of Death Becomes Her

Fast forward ten years.  Madeline’s career has gone downhill, and her marriage to Ernest is failing.  Meanwhile, Helen has published a new bestseller, looks fabulous, and is riding high on her success.  This sends Madeline into a downward spiral, until she meets Viola Van Horn (played by Michelle Williams), who sells her a potion that restores her youthful looks.  It does, however, come with a serious warning.

Megan Hilty and Jennifer Simard are amazing as Madeline and Helen.  Their characterizations are over the top.  Their comic timing is perfect, and their singing is spectacular.  The scene where Madeline falls down a flight of stairs is skillfully staged.  The biggest surprise is when she loses her head, literally.  Megan Hilty plays the next scene with her head on the bar cart.  It is hysterical… and highly effective.  Christopher Sieber plays Ernest with heart.  Both women use him for their selfish need, yet he never gives up on himself.  

Michelle Williams & the Ensemble
Photo courtesy of Death Becomes Her

Scenic design by Derek McLane is sumptuous.  The lighting by Justin Townsend is superb.  Paul Tazwell’s costumes are incredible and full of imagination.  There are a lot of very fast changes, both for costumes and sets.  Everything is seamless and brilliantly paced.  This creates a stunning glamour that, combined with the campy, over the top humor, gives this show an opulent style of its own.

Death Becomes Her is playing at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre.  It is presently in preview, and officially opens on November 21.  Go see it! 

Domenick Danza