The Hills of California
2 hrs and 45 min, including intermission
The Hills of California - 2024 Broadway History , Info & More
Broadhurst Theatre (Broadway)
235 W. 44th St. New York, NY
Following their triumphant production of The Ferryman, Tony®-winning Playwright Jez Butterworth and Oscar and Tony-winning Director Sam Mendes reunite for The Hills of California.
In the sweltering heat of a 1970s summer, the Webb sisters return to their childhood home in Blackpool, an English seaside town, where their mother Veronica lies dying upstairs. Gloria and Ruby now have families of their own. Jill never left. And Joan? No one’s heard from her in twenty years… but Jill insists that their mother’s favorite won’t let them down this time.
The run-down Sea View Guest House is haunted by bittersweet memories of amusement park rides and overdue bills. Back in the 1950s, each night the girls rehearse their singing act, managed by their fiercely loving single mom. But when a record producer offers a shot at fame and a chance to escape, it will cost them all dearly.
The Hills of California - 2024 - Broadway Cast
FEATURED REVIEWS FOR The Hills of California
When mom dies and the truth spills out
6 / 10
Maybe that’s why Mendes’s production broods and thrums like it might suddenly turn into a Big Important Drama, or a potentially frightening one. The magnificent rotating set (by designer Rob Howell) features M.C. Escher-inspired stairways ascending as though into the great beyond. Deep, lingering shadows (lighting is by Natasha Chivers) and ominous swells of scoring (by composer and sound designer Nick Powell) drum up more intrigue than most of the story’s well-worn tropes. Even for a scene of imminent demise on the British coast, the dreariness is a bit overdone.
The Hills of California
7 / 10
While the play is an ensemble effort, it is also an extraordinary showcase for Donnelly. The present here is haunted by the past, and the two collide powerfully in the wreckage and reckoning of the play’s third act. (Butterworth has rewritten it for the better from the version that played in London.) Donnelly returns in this final stretch, strikingly and effectively, to play a wholly different character. But the moment in her performance that will stay with me the longest comes a little earlier, at the end of the second act, when Veronica stares out at the audience, failed by her aplomb, listening in terror for a silence she dreads. In her eyes we see the cost of her ambition: As ancient in its way as any, this is a story of human sacrifice.
Category
The Hills of California History
Other Productions of The Hills of California
| 2024 | West End |
West End |
| 2024 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
The Hills of California - 2024 Broadway Awards and Nominations
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play | Laura Donnelly |
| 2025 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Scenic Design of a Play | Rob Howell |
| 2025 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Costume Design | Rob Howell |
| 2025 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Direction of a Play | Sam Mendes |
| 2025 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Lead Performer in a Broadway Play | Laura Donnelly |
| 2025 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Lighting Design | Natasha Chivers |
| 2025 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding New Broadway Play | The Hills of California |
| 2025 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Scenic Design | Rob Howell |
| 2025 | Tony Awards | Best Costume Design of a Play | Rob Howell |
| 2025 | Tony Awards | Best Direction of a Play | Sam Mendes |
| 2025 | Tony Awards | Best Lighting Design of a Play | Natasha Chivers |
| 2025 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play | Laura Donnelly |
| 2025 | Tony Awards | Best Scenic Design of a Play | Rob Howell |
| 2025 | Tony Awards | Best Sound Design of a Play | Nick Powell |
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