THE HILLS OF CALIFORNIA Reviews

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 9/29/24 at 2:55pm

[TheatreMonkey]

Posted: 9/29/24 at 8:03pm

Just...getting an early jump on things?! ;-)

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 9/29/24 at 8:07pm

Embargo lifts at 11 PM

[Musigamist]

Posted: 9/29/24 at 10:07pm

Variety is positive: "Sam Mendes and Jez Butterworth Deliver a Dream of a Broadway Drama" https://variety.com/2024/legit/reviews/the-hills-of-california-review-broadway-sam-mendes-jez-butterworth-1236159482/ 

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 9/29/24 at 11:01pm

Two five-star reviews from NY Stage Review

THE HILLS OF CALIFORNIA: LE JEZ HOT!

By Melissa Rose Bernardo

★★★★★ Laura Donnelly stars in a time-hopping play about a musical family that hits all the right notes

https://nystagereview.com/2024/09/29/the-hills-of-california-le-jez-hot/

 

THE HILLS OF CALIFORNIA: JEZ BUTTERWORTH’S PIERCING GAZE ON FOUR SISTERS

By David Finkle

★★★★★ Sam Mendes intensely directs a dark Blackpool dramedy with an unbeatable cast

https://nystagereview.com/2024/09/29/the-hills-of-california-jez-butterworths-piercing-gaze-on-four-sisters/

[Piparoo]

Posted: 9/29/24 at 11:02pm

NYTimes is positive. Critics pick Updated On: 9/29/24 at 11:02 PM

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 9/29/24 at 11:03pm

Holdren in Vulture:

Doing Less With More: The Hills of California

https://www.vulture.com/article/theater-review-the-hills-of-california.html

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 9/29/24 at 11:05pm

Deadline is positive

‘The Hills Of California’ Broadway Review: Jez Butterworth’s Homecoming Tale Of Harmony Long Gone

https://deadline.com/2024/09/hills-of-california-broadway-review-1236100364/

"Is there a more dependable set-up for family drama than the gathering of long-estranged siblings? Last season’s dark and wonderful Appropriate proved there was plenty of life in Pinter’s old Homecoming trick, and this Broadway season Jez Butterworth does it again with the fine The Hills Of California, a superbly performed reckoning with old traumas and those family squabbles that can seem so petty on the surface."

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 9/29/24 at 11:05pm

B+ from Entertainment Weekly

The Hills of California review: Jez Butterworth's latest has more peaks than valleys

https://ew.com/the-hills-of-california-review-broadway-8720070

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 9/29/24 at 11:06pm

3 stars from NY Post

‘Hills of California’ review: A cutthroat new stage mother on Broadway

https://nypost.com/2024/09/29/entertainment/hills-of-california-review-a-cutthroat-new-stage-mother-on-broadway/

"Butterworth, after all, has no problem with giant changes. His ending is completely different, and leagues better than when I saw the play in London in June. An unneeded, overly complicated shock has been shredded and in its place is a long-awaited, satisfying confrontation that, once again, summoned thoughts of “Gypsy.”"

[Musigamist]

Posted: 9/29/24 at 11:07pm

Piparoo said: "NYTimes is positive. Critics pick"

Gift link: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/29/theater/the-hills-of-california-review.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Ok4.rRqS.pAfI33gT07Sf&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c-cb

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 9/29/24 at 11:08pm

Theatrely:

THE HILLS OF CALIFORNIA Chart a Family’s Act — Review

https://www.theatrely.com/post/the-hills-of-california-chart-a-familys-act-review

"The best way to enjoy The Hills of California – not that it takes any real effort to do so – is to take it as a long yarn that unfolds across its own soapy, extended timeline. Jez Butterworth’s latest play, directed by Sam Mendes and imported from a London run earlier this year, is never less than compelling, well-executed and performed. But the slightness of its core that’s far from insurmountable, but can incur a modest wince once revealed, about two-thirds of the way into its two-hour-forty-five runtime."

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 9/29/24 at 11:08pm

Daily Beast

Broadway Review: ‘The Hills of California’ Gets Lost in Time—and Loses Us Too

FEEL THE HEAT

Despite Laura Donnelly’s standout performance, Jez Butterworth’s Broadway play takes too long to not say not enough about sisterly bonds, fame, and terrible maternal betrayal.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/broadway-review-the-hills-of-california-gets-lost-in-timeand-loses-us-too

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 9/29/24 at 11:09pm

Observer

Review: Long, Bumpy Ride to Sisterly Reconciliation Over ‘The Hills of California’

An excellent cast and direction from Sam Mendes keep the action driving in this nearly three hour family drama from playwright Jez Butterworth.

https://observer.com/2024/09/review-long-bumpy-ride-to-sisterly-reconciliation-over-the-hills-of-california/

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 9/29/24 at 11:10pm

Chicago Tribune

Review: In riveting “The Hills of California” on Broadway, grown sisters reckon with their dreams

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/09/29/review-in-the-hills-of-california-on-broadway-grown-sisters-reckon-with-their-dreams/

"The ensemble acting in director Sam Mendes’ blistering production from London’s West End is off the charts when it comes to veracity, intensity and the manifestation of how childhood trauma invariably impacts adulthood. And the characters Butterworth forges are so empathetic that I never wanted this three-act show to end. Or even to pause. Not with everyone in such pain.

As I write the morning after, I feel like I am still recovering from the level of emotion this thing churned around in me."

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 9/29/24 at 11:11pm

Washington Post

When mom dies and the truth spills out

Jez Butterworth’s new play, ‘The Hills of California,’ tells a familiar story of showbiz ambitions and sibling rivalries.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater/2024/09/29/hills-of-california-broadway-review/

"But much of what Butterworth explores in “The Hills of California” has been done elsewhere and often, including showbiz moms from hell (“Gypsy”), four spirited sisters who grow up and apart (“Little Women”), sibling rivalries that flare over an absent or dying parent (“August: Osage County”; “His Three Daughters,” now streaming on Netflix), even a wayward artist returning home after his mother’s death (Kenneth Lonergan’s “Hold on to Me Darling,” now playing off-Broadway with Adam Driver).

That’s not to say that family dynamics like these aren’t worth further examination, or that Butterworth’s take on them isn’t artfully done. But almost nothing about it feels original."

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 9/29/24 at 11:11pm

AMNY

Review | Broken jukebox and broken family in ‘The Hills of California’

https://www.amny.com/news/the-hills-of-california-sam-mendes/

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 9/29/24 at 11:16pm

Theatermania:

Review: Four Sisters and the Secret That Destroyed a Family in The Hills of California

https://www.theatermania.com/news/review-four-sisters-and-the-secret-that-destroyed-a-family-in-the-hills-of-california_1751568/

"To their credit, both Butterworth and Mendes have done excellent work sharpening the material for Broadway. Trimming the running time by 15 minutes and putting less emphasis on some of the supporting roles has made a world of difference in terms of pacing (though there are still at least two characters that could be cut). More essentially, a nearly complete overhaul of the third act has not only deepened the arcs for all four sisters, but clarified the story that Butterworth is telling: how one person’s trauma and survival effects everyone in their orbit."

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 9/29/24 at 11:16pm

NY Sun (paywalled)

Arriving From Across the Pond, Jez Butterworth’s ‘The Hills of California’ Is Theater at Its Best

The production is the playwright’s first on Broadway since 2018’s ‘The Ferryman,’ another London import that also featured the luminous Laura Donnelly and a star director, Sam Mendes.

https://www.nysun.com/article/arriving-from-across-the-pond-jez-butterworths-the-hills-of-california-is-theater-at-its-best

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 9/29/24 at 11:34pm

The Wrap (a spoiler for a plot change/revision)

‘The Hills of California’ Broadway Review: Jez Butterworth Delivers Another Modern Classic

Sam Mendes directs and Laura Donnelly dazzles

https://www.thewrap.com/the-hills-of-california-broadway-review-jez-butterworth-sam-mendes/

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 9/30/24 at 7:22am

MemorableUserName said: "Holdren in Vulture:

Doing Less With More:The Hills of California

https://www.vulture.com/article/theater-review-the-hills-of-california.html"

Another bang-on review from Holdren. God, I’m glad she’s back.

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 9/30/24 at 9:17am

even when i disagree with holdren, she always makes points/observations that make me rethink, a true critical gem. 

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 9/30/24 at 11:30am

Did They Like It? rating: 10 positive (including the New York Times) 2 mixed, 2 negative

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 9/30/24 at 11:31am

DTLI Consensus: Unleashing the first of two domineering stage mothers on the same sidewalk this season, Jez Butterworth delivers another highly effective family drama. 

10 positive (including the NYT), 2 mixed, 2 negative.

https://didtheylikeit.com/shows/the-hills-of-california/#google_vignette

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 9/30/24 at 3:45pm

I usually love Sara Holdren's take and I think she makes a lot of valid points about the piece as a whole (and yeah, I also thought the 2 minute "break" was laughable), but I feel like I saw a completely different performance of Joan than her.  Yes Joan is disillusioned and speaks almost exclusively in a deadpan tone, but I thought she was far from the caricature that Holdren described.  What impressed me most about Donnelly's performances as both Veronica and Joan was how you could see their false flippancy belying their inner turmoil.  The entire caricature that Joan displays is entirely on purpose, and you can see hints of her true self peek through with things like the scene on the stairs.