Drama Masks: ‘Hills of California’ sings, ‘Woman in Black’ thrills

This is Drama Masks, a Bay Area performing arts column from a born San Franciscan and longtime theatre artist in an N95 mask. I talk venue safety and dramatic substance, or the lack thereof.

It seems like Arthur Miller’s The Crucible always finds its way back into my life somehow. From first reading the play in high school to performing in it a decade ago to rolling my eyes at Aaron Sorkin’s sexist misinterpretation of it, the quintessential “political play” finds new and interesting ways to once again grab my attention, faults and all.

I thought of it again after the past week’s exciting political developments. Between New Yorkers embracing an unabashed socialist and we Californians experimenting with “ethical gerry-mandering”— and seeing as how we’re still in the midst of a government shutdown caused by rich Republicans wanting to let ordinary citizens die without healthcare—one would think the Dems would ride said wave to populist glory.

You’d think.

Like everyone who tells John Proctor to give up rather than stand for the truth, Dems decided to fold like cheap accordions and hand Republicans a victory on a silver platter. Mind you, this happened the same time Trump was jeered mercilessly by an entire stadium crowd, proving that anyone who stands against him has the people on their side. Hell, even his hand-picked SCotUS decided not to kill marriage equality! Who’da thunk that? So, of course that’s the perfect time for Dems to roll out the red carpet for him. And people wonder why I voted for Claudia de la Cruz last November?

As someone who’s been writing about the ineptitude of the Democratic Party for quite some time (though not as long as this website’s editor), I bring up The Crucible because I feel as if Dems took the wrong message from Miller’s anti-McCarythist masterpiece. The point of it was to always push for the truth, even when yours are the only lips to speak it; Dems seem to think the point is that Proctor died as a martyr, so that he could be proven right in hindsight. I hear that and think “It is mistaken law that leads you to sacrifice.”

To see American fascism overtake the country through right-wing skullduggery is bad enough, but to watch the Democratic establishment—which has spent the past decade-plus deliberately trying to silence Bernie Sanders, AOC, her fellow Squad members, and grass-roots citizen activist—refuse to even put up a fight is worse. We need the sort of fighters who will “show honor now, show a stony heart and sink them with it!”

The Hills of California West Coast premiere at Berkeley Rep

Perhaps it isn’t fair, but timing is just one reason I have to compare Jez Butterworth’s The Hills of California (West Coast premiere through December 7 at Berkeley Rep) to the current BroadwaySF production of Stereophonic. There are notable similarities: both take place in the ‘70s; both dwell on the “messiness” that goes into creating beloved art; and both feature British characters trying to make a lasting impact on the American music scene. Yet, I walked out of Stereophonic wondering what all the hype was about, and walked out of Hills feeling as if I’d stepped from one world to another.

It’s the mid-to-late-‘70s and we find ourselves in a quiet English town in the middle of the former Sea View hotel (gorgeously designed in multiple layers by Andrew Boyce and Se Hyun Oh). This is childhood home of the Webb sisters, the matriarch of whom is slowly dying upstairs. Daughter Jillian (Karen Killeen) knows her mum is near the end, so she’s summoned her sisters back to the Sea View to make final plans. The soused Ruby (Aimee Doherty) and foul-mouthed Gloria (Amanda Kristin Nichols) show up with their respective spouses, but have no interest in Jillian’s plans, nor in the way she brings up their past as a promising quartet of child singers.

Yes, quartet, as Jillian holds out hope that fourth sister Joan will return, despite having left for the States 20 years ago. This leads to some hilarious and heart-breaking flashbacks to their mother (Allison Jean White) pushing the girls towards a stardom they may not even want.

It’s to Butterworth’s credit that his characters can seem straight out of a BBC sitcom (Nichols is a particular show-stealer as the no-bullshit Gloria) in a story about repressed sexual trauma without either overshadowing the other. It doesn’t hurt that this production is directed by former Magic Theatre grand dame Loretta Greco. And despite the fact that the four younger actresses (Meghan Carey, Nicole Mulready, Kate Fitzgerald, and Chloé Kolbenheyer) bear no resemblance to their adult counterparts, the entire ensemble moves in a harmony as perfect as when the younger four sing “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” (per their mother’s obsession with the Andrews Sisters).

Greco finds the perfect balance of magical realism and grounded verisimilitude to make us want to know everything that happened in the two decades between settings, even though we understand how traumatizing it all was.

Me being me, I’d have preferred to see more masks in the audience, but the Rep’s Roda Theatre made it safe as possible for those who did or didn’t. CO² readings on my Aranet4 peaked around 672ppm during the second, which is always a comforting thought. The Rep’s has severely cut back on its mask-required shows, but there’s still one more to come with the matinee on Sun/16.

Again, it may not be fair to compare this show to Stereophonic, but this one flies where that one just skips. Not only does this one have fewer dodgy accents, but it masterfully balances gut-busting laughs with lifelong trauma without sacrificing the importance of either.

THE HILLS OF CALIFORNIA’s West Coast premiere runs through December 7 at the Berkeley Rep. Tickets and further info here.

The Woman in Black at Center REP

If it seems like I’ve reviewed this show before, I have. I don’t just mean an earlier production, I mean I looked at the same show just three years ago, at ACT’s Strand. Center REP isn’t the sort of company one thinks of when hosting a big international show, but AD Matt Murrow’s still-nascent tenure has been nothing if not ambitious.

If you’re not familiar with Susan Hill’s The Woman in Black (through November 23 at Lesher Center for the Arts, Walnut Creek), it’s the story of a man named Arthur Kipps (David Acton) and his travels as a young man (James Byng) to a remote English village–yes, another one–to see about the remains of an estate. In course of his duty, he’s haunted by pale woman in all-black, whose appearances always precede tragedy. Now, Arthur wants to share his story with us.

Though the Lesher is a more intimate stage than the Strand, it’s no less effective hosting Stephen Mallatratt’s unsettling adaptation. Seeing it in autumn works in its favor as an old-fashioned gothic horror. Even though I knew when most of the scares were coming, seeing it with a first-time audience offered as visceral thrill at hearing them shudder.

There weren’t many in that audience who were masked, but the HVAC at the Lesher made sure that CO² levels went no higher than about 757ppm during the two-act show. That’s a good thing. Between that mutating virus and the worldwide adoption of fascism, I much prefer the sort of scares that have a conclusive finale.

THE WOMAN IN BLACK runs through November 23 at the Lesher Center for the Arts, Walnut Creek. Tickets and further info here.