“The Hills of California” is a poignant tale of a mother’s ambition that irrevocably altered the lives of her four singing daughters. Written by British award-winner Jez Butterworth, the drama takes place in the run-down Seaview Guest House in Blackpool, England. Veronica Webb (Allison Jean White), mother of the four, has more ambition and imagination than truthfulness, so it’s not surprising that there is no sea view from any window in the establishment.
We witness the reunion of the four daughters who have come together because of their mother Veronica’s looming death. The youngest daughter, Jillian (Karen Killeen), still living at home and a virgin at 32, is jittery and secretly smokes cigarettes. Daughters Ruby (Aimee Doherty) and Gloria (Amanda Kristin Nichols) both live hours away, with ne’er-do-well husbands, and rarely visit their mother. The oldest, Joan (also played by Allison Jean White), left home at 15, chasing the California dream of success in the music industry. And no one in the family has seen or heard from her since. But Jillian has faith that she will return to say a final goodbye to her mother.
The action of the almost three-hour play takes place in the sweltering summer of 1976, with flashbacks to tumultuous family events of 1955. The marvelous three-story stage set (by Andrew Boyce and Se Hyun Oh) rotates back and forth between the two eras. A completely different, yet excellent, cast plays the young daughters in flashbacks (Chloé Kolbenheyer, Meghan Carey, Nicole Mulready, and Kate Fitzgerald).
Veronica’s great ambition is that her daughters would emulate the success and style of the famous Andrews Sisters, the U.S. close harmony singing trio of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. But by the time the girls are young teenagers, the pop music scene has shifted to a different sound — one that features Nat King Cole and the young upstart, Elvis Presley. But Veronica continues to be fixated on the three Andrews Sisters. She would even kick one daughter out of her quartet to emulate their trio.
As “The Hills of California” continues, we learn more about the family and finally see a thaw in the grown-up sisters’ interaction, especially when they sing in close harmony. Finally, Joan makes her dramatic appearance, and our interest is newly piqued. But by then, the play is over two and a half hours in, and we are sort of ready to go home.
There is a great deal to admire in this co-production with the Huntington Theatre, notably in Jez Butterworth’s creative talent and Loretta Greco’s capable direction. The actors’ performances were generally excellent, especially Allison Jean White, whose facial expressions and body language conveyed as much as her words. However, it was sometimes difficult to understand the actors’ attempts to emulate the English Lancashire accent. And some of the actors’ high-pitched tones were jarring at times. Although the plot of the family coming together in anticipation of the matriarch’s death is as old as time, “The Hills of California” had some new twists that kept it fresh.
By Emily S. Mendel
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