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  He informs Veronica that the material in the girls’ act is out of date, and only one of them has star potential.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

The Ferryman

The Ferryman

Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre

December 15, 2018

Photo courtesy of The Ferryman

Playwright Jez Butterworth’s play, The Ferryman, skillfully weaves factual occurrences involving the Irish Republican Army with the lives of a poor Irish Farmer and his tight-knit family.  The outcome is an absorbing and intimate story of how a family, bonded by love and faith, can fall as their darker secrets and need for vengeance rise to the surface.  Director Sam Mendes brilliantly interprets this three hour and fifteen minute masterpiece, building the action to a stunning climax.  He successfully focuses a cast of twenty-one phenomenal actors to work as one unit, while delivering genuine and powerful individual performances.

It is 1981 in Northern Ireland.  “For five months, Republican inmates in the Maze Prison have been on hunger strikes to demand they be recognized as political prisoners.  Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has refused, and nine successive prisoners have already died in the ‘H block’.”  (from The Ferryman program notes). 

Niall Wright & Paddy Considine
Photo courtesy of The Ferryman

The Carney family welcomes the excitement of Harvest Day.  Quinn Carney (played by Paddy Considine) vigorously wakes his family for a day of hard work and joyous celebration.  Father Horrigan (played by Charles Dale) enters with news that the body of Shamus Carney, who disappeared ten years ago, has been found buried in a bog with a bullet through his head.  Caitlin (played by Laura Donnelly) decides to keep this information about her husband quiet until after the celebration.  Quinn reluctantly agrees, wanting the news of his brother’s murder shared with his family and the rest of the community.  Unfortunately, Caitlin’s fourteen year old son, Oisin (played by Rob Malone) overhears this discussion, and holds back his reaction.  When the family is visited by IRA leader Muldoon (played by Stuart Graham) during their celebration, the news is abruptly broken to the family.  Their past involvement with the IRA is revealed.  Loyalty is expected.  Revenge is desired.  Betrayal is imminent.

Laura Donnelly & Paddy Considine
Photo courtesy of The Ferryman

The cast creates the high energy, close relationships of three generations of a large Irish farming family.  They are warm, caring, boisterous, and volatile.  This environment is vital to the action of the play.  It is genuine and enthralling.  Paddy Considine plays Quinn Carney as a strong father figure with a big heart.  His sons (played by Fra Fee and Niall Wright) are vigorous and fervent.  His daughters (played by Matilda Lawler, Carla Langley, Willow McCarthy, and Brooklyn Shuck) are mischievous and inquisitive.  Laura Donnelly portrays Caitlin Carney with a strong and determined open heart.  She is an equal match to Mr. Considine.  Their chemistry is profound and joyous.

Laura Donnelly, Genevieve O'Reilly, & Paddy Considine
Photo courtesy of The Ferryman

Each of the three acts of Jez Butterworth’s play peels back numerous layers of the lives of the characters and the events of their past.  As we see how their actions are dominated by fear, we understand the political situation at that time in Ireland.  As we listen to the stories of Aunt Maggie (played by Fionnula Flanagan) about the howling of the Banshees, and the reading by Uncle Pat (played by Mark Lambert) of the myth of the souls waiting to be carried by the Ferryman across the River Styx, we understand the depth of the haunting of this family and the centuries of injustice imposed upon the Irish people.

The Ferryman is a brilliant piece of theatre.  It is masterfully written. skillfully directed, and magnificently performed.  This production is not to be missed.  Get your tickets right away!

Domenick Danza