London Cast Will Reprise Roles in THE HILLS OF CALIFORNIA on Broadway

Initial casting has been announced for the Broadway premiere of Jez Butterworth’s new play The Hills of California, directed by Sam Mendes.

Featuring the play’s acclaimed leading London cast members on the Broadway stage, The Hills of California’s company will include Olivier Award winner and Tony nominee Laura Donnelly as Joan/Veronica; 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, with further casting to be announced.

The Hills of California will begin previews Wednesday, September 11 ahead of a Sunday, September 29, 2024 opening night at the Broadhurst Theatre (235 W. 44th Street) in a limited engagement.

Tickets go on sale to the general public beginning tomorrow, June 26 at 10am EST.

The Hills of California marks Tony and Olivier Award winner Butterworth’s newest play since the multi-award winning The Ferryman, also directed by Oscar, Tony, and Olivier Award winner Mendes.

Full Broadway casting for The Hills of California will be announced at a later date.

The production recently concluded its limited engagement at the Harold Pinter Theatre on the West End, where it received 2024 Best New Play and Best Leading Actress in a Play (Laura Donnelly) Olivier Award nominations.

“What is a song? A song is a dream... a place to be. Somewhere you can live.  And in that place, there are no walls. No boundaries. No locks. No keys. You can go anywhere...” 

Following their triumphant production of The Ferryman, Tony®-winning Playwright Jez Butterworth and Oscar and Tony-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. With stunning design and glorious music, The Hills of California is “a rich, funny, brilliantly layered drama.” (Financial Times).

The creative team for The Hills of California includes Rob Howell (scenic and costume design), Natasha Chivers (lighting design), Nick Powell (composer, sound design and arrangements), Ellen Kane (choreography), Candida Caldicot (musical supervision and arrangements), Amy Ball (UK casting director, Verity Naughton (UK young persons’ casting director), Jim Carnahan CSA, JV Mercanti (US casting director) and Zoé Ford Burnett (associate director).

Biographies

Laura Donnelly (Joan/Veronica) is an Olivier Award-winning and Tony nominated actress who will reprise her leading role in The Hills of California written by Jez Butterworth and directed by Sam Mendes where she received a second nomination for Best Actress at the Olivier Awards this year. Other stage highlights include the Tony and Olivier Award-winning play The Ferrymanwritten by Jez Butterworth and directed by Sam Mendes and The River on Broadway co-starring Hugh Jackman. Screen credits include HBO’s “The Nevers,” Starz’s “Outlander,” and Marvel’s “Werewolf By Night” alongside Gael Garcia Bernal. 

Leanne Best (Gloria). Select theatre credits: The Hills of California (Harold Pinter Theatre, West End); Sweat (Donmar/Gielgud);The Human Voice (Gate Theatre); Educating Rita, The Hypochondriac, Fleet Street Nativity, The Way Home, Macbeth (Liverpool Everyman); The Matchbox (Liverpool Everyman/Tricycle Theatre); Damned by Despair (National Theatre); A Streetcar Named Desire, The May Queen, Our Country’s Good (Liverpool Playhouse). Select television credits: Insomnia, The Bay, G’Wed, Ted Lasso, A Town Called Malice, The Walk In, Compulsion, Close To Me, Harm, Young Wallander, Carnival Row, Tin Star, Cold Feet, Babs, Good Karma Hospital, Black Mirror, Home Fires, Lucan, Ripper Street. Select film credits: Raging Grace, Bolan’s Shoes, Black Dog, Harm, Little Joe, The Infiltrator, Native, Cotton Wool, Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Ophelia Lovibond (Ruby). Theatre Includes: The Hills of California (Harold Pinter Theatre); The Libertine (Haymarket); Nightfall (Bridge Theatre); The Effect (Sheffield Crucible); The Stepmother (Chichester Festival Theatre). Television Includes: “Hooten and the Lady,” “Trying,” “Mr. Sloane,” “Inside No. 9,” “FM,” “Minx,” “Partygate,” “This England,” “Trying,” “Roadkill,” “Feel Good,” “Elementary,” “W1A.” Film includes: Nowhere Boy, London Boulevard, A Single Shot, Here, Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made, Rocketman, The Autopsy of Jane Doe, Man Up, Guardians of the Galaxy, Mr Popper’s Penguins, No Strings Attached.

HELENA WILSON (Jill) (she/her). Theatre: The Hills of California (Harold Pinter Theatre, West End); Linck and Mülhahn (Hampstead Theatre); Jack Absolute Flies Again (National Theatre); White Noise (Bridge Theatre); The Deep Blue Sea (Chichester Festival Theatre); Measure for Measure (Donmar Warehouse – Ian Charleson Award Commendation); The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (Donmar). After graduating Oxford University in 2016, Helena played Bolette in Kwame Kwei-Armah’s production of Ibsen’s The Lady from the Sea at the Donmar. That same year, she made her stage debut as Ophelia in Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, directed by David Leveaux at the Old Vic.

Nancy Allsop (Young Gloria) (she/her). Theatre includes: The Hills Of California (Harold Pinter Theatre, West End); The Fever Syndrome (Hampstead Theatre); God Bless the Child (Royal Court Theatre); Annie (Piccadilly Theatre, West End); The Sound of Music (International Tour); The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Manchester Cathedral). Television includes “Young Wallander” (Netflix).

SOPHIA ALLY (Young Ruby) (she/her). Training: The Brit School, Ariel Drama Academy, Redhurst School of Dance. Theatre: The Hills of California (Harold Pinter Theatre; West End), Far Away (Donmar Warehouse), Matilda the Musical (RSC), The Ferryman(Royal Court Theatre & Gielgud Theatre; West End), Sunset at The Villa Thalia (National Theatre), Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs (Chequer Mead). Film: A Modest Defeat, The Current War, My Zoe, Be Good (Latitude Film Festival 2019 Gold Award - Lead Actor), Artefact, The Writing Box. TV: “The Marlow Murder Club,” “The Peripheral,” “The Salisbury Poisonings,” “Curfew.” Audio Book: Below (Audible).

Lara McDonnell (Young Joan) (she/her). Lara’s feature credits include the Academy Award-winning Belfast, written and directed by Kenneth Branagh for Focus Features/Universal; Artemis Fowl, also directed by Kenneth Branagh, for Disney; Greatest Days for Elysian Films; Visitation (Blinder Films); The Delinquent Season (Parallel Films) and Love, Rosie (Canyon Creek/Constantin Films). Television includes “The Last Bus” (Wildseed/Netflix), “The Holiday” (Chalkboard), “Ballistic” (Automatik Entertainment/New Regency) and “To Walk Invisible,” written and directed by Sally Wainwright for BBC. Stage work includes the title role in Matilda for the RSC/West End and The Hills of California in the West End.

NICOLA TURNER (Young Jill) (she/her). Theatre includes: The Hills of California (Harold Pinter Theatre; West End), Matilda (UK and Ireland Tour); Billy Elliott (UK and Ireland Tour/Germany), Jack and the Beanstalk, Cinderella, The Wizard of Oz (Neon Theatrical).