THE HILLS OF CALIFORNIA Previews — Page 2

Really enjoyed this tonight, which I was surprised by considering how Ferryman didn't leave much of an impression on me (though to be fair I was having a tough time following along with the accents and excess of characters), and I especially found this much more accessible. I loved how deceptively simple it was but just thinking about the different feelings and motivations of the characters will probably carry me for a while--I think it would be really interesting to read because I know there's parts I missed or things that would just carry a larger resonance a second time around.

The second act was by far my favorite, for both the "present" and past scenes. I'm surprised reading that people found Veronica one note as I thought she had a tremendous amount of spirit and I really admired her for juggling all the different parts of her life and trying to balance her ambition (and that of her daughters) with empathy (and manipulation), which was also similar in tone to one of Joan's monologues in the third act. The main thing is I was a little puzzled at her inaction at the end of the second act, but I think Laura Donnelly sold her internal conflict quite well so it's hard for me to tell if that's a flaw on the part of the play or if that's an intentional ambiguity.

I'd heard a lot of negatives about the third act (especially in London), which I understand to be rewritten, though I'm not sure if they're still making changes. I think it was less "neat" (especially with the male characters, though I kind of understand why they're there), but it wasn't as big of a drop off as I was expecting. Laura Donnelly definitely shows a lot of range and had I not known beforehand that she was doubling parts, I would never have expected that to be her just based on her demeanor and voice. It still feels a little messy--Ruby has a part near the end that seems to come on a bit inexplicably and I don't think was established enough ahead of time to make sense of it, and Jill ends up coming off as a bit of a contradiction in her attitude towards Joan (also probably more naive than she should be). But I think the sisterhood between the four, or what remains of it, as well as the themes that pervade through the entire piece still make this something that's fascinating to watch

chrishuyen said: "Really enjoyed this tonight, which I was surprised by considering how Ferryman didn't leave much of an impression on me (though to be fair I was having a tough time following along with the accents and excess of characters), and I especially found this much more accessible. I loved how deceptively simple it was but just thinking about the different feelings and motivations of the characters will probably carry me for a while--I think it would be really interesting to read because I know there's parts I missed or things that would just carry a larger resonance a second time around.

The second act was by far my favorite, for both the "present" and past scenes. I'm surprised reading that people found Veronica one note as I thought she had a tremendous amount of spirit and I really admired her for juggling all the different parts of her life and trying to balance her ambition (and that of her daughters) with empathy (and manipulation), which was also similar in tone to one of Joan's monologues in the third act. The main thing is I was a little puzzled at her inaction at the end of the second act, but I think Laura Donnelly sold her internal conflict quite well so it's hard for me to tell if that's a flaw on the part of the play or if that's an intentional ambiguity.

I'd heard a lot of negatives about the third act (especially in London), which I understand to be rewritten, though I'm not sure if they're still making changes. I think it was less "neat" (especially with the male characters, though I kind of understand why they're there), but it wasn't as big of a drop off as I was expecting. Laura Donnelly definitely shows a lot of range and had I not known beforehand that she was doubling parts, I would never have expected that to be her just based on her demeanor and voice. It still feels a little messy--Ruby has a part near the end that seems to come on a bit inexplicably and I don't think was established enough ahead of time to make sense of it, and Jill ends up coming off as a bit of a contradiction in her attitude towards Joan (also probably more naive than she should be). But I think the sisterhood between the four, or what remains of it, as well as the themes that pervade through the entire piecestill make this something that's fascinating to watch"

I have the script from London and saw it on Broadway this week.

I really enjoyed it. Haven't seen Ferryman on stage.

Updated On: 9/21/24 at 04:57 PM

His Three Daughters was just released on Netflix. Carrie Coon is giving some performance. I couldn't help but think about the similarities and differences between the sisters in this and The Hills of California. I enjoyed both so much.

Looks like there are still MTC 30 Under 35 tickets available for the next few weeks.

That doesn't necessarily make it easier to breathe. If it wasn't a concern, they wouldn't put signs in front of the house saying "The use of haze is used in this production".

Updated On: 9/25/24 at 10:02 AM

Fordham2015 said: "Extended through December 22"

Awesome, but why not through the Xmas holiday to make the big $$$?

I saw this last week. I really loved it. Too busy to go in depth but the script, direction, acting, and set are all absolutely top tier. 3 hour dramas are hit and miss for me but I found this one really special. I didn't see Ferryman but my friend I saw it with said she preferred Hills.