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‘The Hills of California’ Review: Sam Mendes and Jez Butterworth Deliver a Dream of a Broadway Drama
Writer Jez Butterworth and Mendes have streamlined the work, making it more efficient and richly rewarding, anchored by Laura Donnelly's performance.
Designer Rob Howell has created a revolving playing space depicting, on one side, the guest house’s public parlor — featuring Veronica’s desperate efforts to attract customers (a broken jukebox, a faded Tiki bar) — and on the other, the family’s private kitchen. The men here are more peripheral characters that illuminate or comment on the women’s world: a male lodger to demonstrate Veronica’s strength; another with showbiz connections to provide a plot turn; a piano tuner for exposition, and Gloria and Ruby’s accommodating husbands to reflect their marriage dynamic. Wilson’s Jill shows more beneath the surface than her dutiful persona suggests; Lovibond gives a sad subtext to radiant Ruby, the peacekeeping sister who is prone to panic attacks; and in Best’s sharp-tongued Gloria, there’s no disguising that daughter’s long simmering resentments and deep wounds.
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