Jez Butterworth’s The Hills of California, Directed by Sam Mendes, to Open on Broadway

The Hills of California, a new play by Jez Butterworth directed by Sam Mendes, will open on Broadway this fall. The limited engagement will begin September 11 at the Broadhurst Theatre with an official opening set for September 29.

The Hills of California is 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. The production is currently playing at the Harold Pinter Theatre in the West End, where it will conclude its limited engagement on June 15. Broadway casting for The Hills of California will be announced at a later date.

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 girls 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 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 (U.K. young persons’ casting director), Jim Carnahan CSA, JV Mercanti (U.S. casting director) and Zoé Ford Burnett (associate director).