Manhattan Theatre Club Joins Production Team of THE HILLS OF CALIFORNIA on Broadway

Manhattan Theatre Club has joined the producing team of the Broadway premiere of The Hills of California, a new play by Jez Butterworth and directed by Sam Mendes.

The company joins producers Sonia Friedman Productions, No Guarantees Productions, Neal Street, Brian Spector, and Sand & Snow Entertainment, with Stephanie P. McClelland.

The Hills of California will begin previews Wednesday, September 11, 2024 and opens Sunday, September 29, 2024 at the Broadhurst Theatre (235 W. 44th Street). 

The Hills of California is now on sale to MTC subscribers as the third production in the company’s Broadway 2024-25 season. Subscriptions for MTC’s 2024-25 season are available by visiting www.manhattantheatreclub.com/join, or by calling the MTC Clubline at 212-399-3050. 

About The Hills Of California

Following their production of The Ferryman, Tony Award-winning Playwright Jez Butterworth and Oscar and Tony Award-winning director Sam Mendes reunite for The Hills of California. 

In the sweltering heat of a 1970s summer, the Webb sisters return to their childhood home in Blackpool, an English seaside town, where their mother Veronica lies dying upstairs. Gloria and Ruby now have families of their own. Jill never left. And Joan? No one’s heard from her in twenty years… but Jill insists that their mother’s favorite won’t let them down this time. The run-down Sea View Guest House is haunted by bittersweet memories of amusement park rides and overdue bills. Back in the 1950s, each night the four young sisters rehearse their singing act, managed by their fiercely loving single mom. But when a record producer offers a shot at fame and a chance to escape, it will cost them all dearly. 

The Hills of California completed a successful World Premiere in June at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London’s West End, where it received Olivier Award nominations for Best Play and Best Leading Actress in a Play (Laura Donnelly).  

Donnelly, a previous Olivier Award winner and a Tony Award nominee for The Ferryman will recreate her performance as Joan/Veronica. Also reprising their performances will be Leanne Best as Gloria; Ophelia Lovibond as Ruby; Helena Wilson as Jill; Nancy Allsop as Young Gloria; Sophia Ally as Young Ruby; Lara McDonnell as Young Joan; and Nicola Turner as Young Jill. Completing the cast are Bryan Dick, Richard Short, David Wilson Barnes, Richard Lumsden, Ta’Rea Campbell, Sawyer Barth, Ellyn Heald, Cameron Scoggins and Max Roll. The company understudies are Erin Rose Doyle, Sadie Veach, Liz Pearce, Jessica Baglow, Liam Bixby, and Q. Smith.  

The full creative team for The Hills of California includes Rob Howell (designer), Natasha Chivers(lighting design), Nick Powell (composer, sound design and arrangements), Ellen Kane (choreography), Campbell Young Associates (wigs, hair & makeup design), Candida Caldicot (musical supervision and arrangements), Kate Wilson (dialect coach), Amy Ball (UK casting director), Verity Naughton (UK young persons’ casting director), Jim Carnahan CSA, JV Mercanti (US casting director), Zoé Ford Burnett(UK associate director), Joan Sergay (US associate director), Gemma Fuller (UK associate choreographer), Sara Brians (US associate choreographer), Charles M. Turner III (production stage manager), and Ashley-Rose Galligan (stage manager). General management is by TT Partners.