Meet the cast of 'The Hills of California' on Broadway
Get to know the main cast members playing the fictional Webb sisters in the latest family drama from the Tony Award-winning creators of The Ferryman.
How far would you go for family? In The Hills of California, one group of sisters goes to all different lengths, planning a reunion after decades at the very home where they grew up. The latest play from writer Jez Butterworth (Jerusalem) and Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes (American Beauty Skyfall) likewise traveled far, coming stateside after a hit world premiere in London's West End earlier this year. It's their second Broadway collaboration following the Tony Award-winning The Ferryman.
The Hills of California jumps back and forth between two time periods. In the 1950s, the four young Webbs — Joan, Gloria, Ruby, and Jill — are training with their mother, Veronica, to become performers. In the 1970s, their adult selves assess what became of that dream — and how their lives actually turned out.
To help guide you through Butterworth's rich play, the company spoke with New York Theatre Guide about their characters and what audiences should expect from the show. Plus, the British cast — all of whom led the London production as well — shared what they dream of doing while they're in the "hills" of New York, performing at the Broadhurst Theatre through December 8.
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Leanne Best
Who she plays: Gloria Webb is the second eldest of the Webb girls. When we meet her, she is furious at having to be called back to her mother's deathbed — and furious that one of her sisters hasn't turned up.
What audiences should know: It is the hottest day of the year, 1976, in Blackpool [in England]. And upstairs at the Luxury Seaview Guest House and Spa, Veronica Webb lays dying. Her daughter Jill calls the other sisters home to see her over — and they are waiting for one of the Webb girls to return.
On her NYC bucket list: Ghostbusters firehouse
Nancy Allsop
Who she plays: I play young Gloria, and as a child, she is very passionate and quite insecure. She gets changed a lot by what happens in the play, and she spends the play in pursuit of love from her mother and her family.
What audiences should know: You'll love this if you love Jez's other plays.
On her NYC bucket list: Central Park and the Friends apartment building
Ophelia Lovibond
Who she plays: Ruby Webb is one of the four sisters; she's the second youngest. She adores her older sister, Joan, who went off to America to cut a record and become a singer. She's completely mythologized it.
She comes across as energetic and makes jokes [...] but you learn as the play goes on, that costs her quite a lot and she can't hold it all in.
What audiences should know: The Hills of California is ostensibly about four sisters returning home [...] but it is also about how a family narrative can vary from family member to family member.
You might each remember things that occurred in your family history differently. They'd all be true, but none would be the same.
On her NYC bucket list: Coney Island, boating, and food touring
Sophia Ally
Who she plays: Young Ruby is a bundle of joy, full of love, full of life, and she exerts happiness wherever she goes.
What audiences should know: It's too hard to sum it up as one thing! There's so many sides and details that everyone can take away from it.
On her NYC bucket list: Statue of Liberty, Rockefeller Center, Central Park
Helena Wilson
Who she plays: Jillian, or Jill for short, is the youngest of the four Webb sisters. She is the one who stayed at home after the other girls grew up and moved away for various reasons [...] She's been the main caretaker for their mother, who's dying of cancer, and she carries a lot of emotional responsibility for their mother into that reunion.
What audiences should know: If you like Succession mixed with [the British TV show] Top of the Pops from 1975, you'll like The Hills of California.
On her NYC bucket list: Coney Island
Nicola Turner
Who she plays: Young Jill loves singing and dancing; there's not much seriousness. She's quite introverted when she's a child, and she grows up to be able to speak for herself. She loves a good crossword and loves her sisters.
What audiences should know: It involves a lot of heartbreak, lots of singing and dancing.
On her NYC bucket list: Other Broadway shows
Laura Donnelly
Who she plays: I play Veronica in the 1950s. She is the mother of these four girls, and she has big dreams for them to [be] an all-singing, all-dancing, Andrews Sisters-style act that might hopefully take off to America someday, where they'll become big stars.
In the 1970s part of the play, I play the eldest sister, Joan [...] the only one of the sisters who went on to actually pursue that dream.
What audiences should know: The themes of the play are about family and those connections and time and memory and how we tell each other, and tell ourselves, stories to cope with our lives as they are. That's something anybody in any part of the world can relate to.
On her NYC bucket list: Ice skating at Rockefeller Center
Lara McDonnell
Who she plays: [Young] Joan is cool, calm, collected, and a bit of a rebel — which I love — but she also has so much love for her younger sisters and will do absolutely anything to keep them all together and happy.
What audiences should know: It's too complicated to compare it to one singular thing! If you could, it wouldn't be unique!
On her NYC bucket list: Everything
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Responses have been condensed and edited for length and clarity.
Top image credit: Laura Donnelly, Lara McDonnell, Leanne Best, Nancy Allsop, Sophia Ally, Ophelia Lovibond, Nicola Turner, and Helena Wilson. (Photos by Michael Wharley)
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