Review: THE HILLS OF CALIFORNIA at Berkeley Repertory Theatre

Jez Butterworth’s acclaimed West End and Broadway drama opens with a tried-and-true trope of a family reunion over a deathbed scenario or funeral.  Here, four sisters congregate as their domineering, show biz mother lies dying of cancer. Past and present merge in a dreamy, savage and sometimes tender rehashing of old wounds, dashed dreams, and recriminations. Olivier and Tony Award–winning playwright Butterworth fashioned these women based on his own experience watching his sister slowly die, and director Loretta Greco used her experience of being the eldest of five sisters to fashion this searing West Coast production.

We first meet the mousey and nervous Jillian (Karen Killeen), who never left the family home and dutifully cares for her mother. Next is Ruby (Aimee Doherty), wild and gregarious. She tells of her deflowering by a local lothario yet wouldn’t be able to describe her nondescript husband to the police should he go missing. Gloria (Amanda Kristen Nichol) arrives – angry, weary, and untouchable. She was labeled the ‘spare wheel,’ as the Andrews Sisters were only three. They each are carrying their individual burdens and commonly share a distaste for sister Joan (Allison Jean White), whom we’re told abandoned the family and moved to the US.

What could make these women so emotionally stunted? With a 180 degree  turn of Andrew Boyce and Se Hyun Oh’s massive three story set, we’re transported back to the late 50’s seaside boarding home of Veronica Webb (also Allison Jean White) where she lords over her four girls, fashioning them into a duplicate of the popular Andrew Sisters singing group. Similarities to the plot of Gypsy abound. Delusional showbiz mom forcing her kids into roles that may be meant for themselves. The act is cheesy at best, the sum of the parts better than the individual.

The play switches between past and present with each turn of the set. With Joan's appearance, the sisters go on full ruthless attack mode, venting their perspectives on the past as weapons to assuage their hurts. Young Joan was chosen as the star by a sleazy talent agent who may have raped her. Her trauma and resulting disappearance from the family is the impetus for present resentments.

Butterworth exposes the crushing weight of lost expectations, sibling rivalries, and the ennui of lower working-class life in searing dialogue. The men represented fare worse – drunkards, losers, and faded talents. The acting is top- notch, each sister mired in their personal hell. With the death of their mother, Jillian has no concept of what to do with her life. Her sister told her “She never left cause she couldn’t find the door.”  Now she’s free to do whatever. Joan never became the star, instead delivering pizza in LA. Gloria and Ruby are stuck in their marriages far from the world of showbiz.

The Hills of California is tough, uncompromising, and complicated material. The sisters desperately need to find some redeeming aspect of their youth and find it through the songs their mother drilled into them.

The Hills of California continues through December 7th. For tickets go to berkeleyrep.org or by calling 510 647-2949.

Photo credits: Liza Voll

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Best Musical - Top 3

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23.4% of votes

2. SWEENEY TODD (Cabrillo Stage)

6.8% of votes

3. THE DAY THE SKY TURNED ORANGE (San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company / Z Space)

6.4% of votes

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