Jez Butterworth's latest play 'The Hills of California' made its Broadway debut last night to great critical acclaim.
Olivier Award winner and Tony nominee Laura Donnelly, who also starred in the show's West End run earlier this year, plays the leading role of formidable single mother Veronica, as well as a second role playing Veronica's estranged daughter Joan.
The story follows Veronica, whose 4 daughters have returned to her run-down Blackpool guesthouse in the sweltering summer of 1976 to see their mother on her deathbed. The second scene of the play sees the story shift back 20 years to the 1950s where we see the ambitious, but fiercely loving, younger Veronica who is coaching her 4 young daughters for a vocal harmony group, hoping they will hit the big time. But when a record producer chooses one of the daughters for a shot at fame and a chance to escape, it will cost them all dearly.
Reviewers have been unanimous in their praise of Laura Donnelly's lead performance -
"Ambitious, captivating and richly rewarding...It is Donnelly and her dual roles here that ground the play and give it its resonance...Donnelly is richly layered: loving, chilling, and heartbreaking" - Variety
"utterly magnetizing...Donnelly makes of her [Veronica] a beautiful dragon, sharp and forbidding, strict with the girls and more so with the tenants...Donnelly does not waste even one gesture on likability. She’s as narrowly tailored as her pencil skirts." - New York Times
"Donnelly is a commanding presence, owning the stage much like her character has ownership over the four startlets-in-waiting...a commanding and versatile centerpiece performance." - Entertainment Weekly
"Donnelly’s Veronica is an enthralling creation." - New York Post
"an astonishing dual performance" - Deadline
"an extraordinary showcase for Donnelly" - Time Out
The play runs at New York's Broadhurst Theatre until 22nd December.
Laura Donnelly is available for voiceovers from Anthea Represents. Click her image for her profile page and voiceover showreel.
