Meghan Carey, Kate Fitzgerald, Alison Jean White, Chloé Kolbenhyer, Nicole Mulready (on floor) in Huntington’s ‘The Hills of California’. Photos by Liza Voll
“The Hills of California”, by Jez Butterworth. Directed by Loretta Greco. Presented by The Huntington in association with Berkeley Repertory Theatre, The Huntington, 264 Huntington Avenue, Boston, through October 12.
By Michele Markarian
Full disclosure: I love Jez Butterworth’s writing – psychological without being heavy-handed. I saw Jerusalem with Mark Rylance in 2011; it was magnificent, as was The Ferryman. The Hills of California is no exception – it is a remarkable and moving work that skillfully weaves the lives of four sisters and their mother through their shaky past and fractured present and makes them whole again.
The cast of The Light in the Piazza at The Huntington Theatre. Photos by Julieta Cervantes
“The Light in the Piazza”. Book by Craig Lucas. Music and Lyrics by Adam Guettel. Based on the Novel by Elizabeth Spencer. Directed by Loretta Greco. Presented by The Huntington, 264 Huntington Avenue, Boston, through June 15.
by Michele Markarian
“I think it is my favorite place on earth,” declares Margaret Johnson (Emily Skinner), gazing around a piazza in Florence with her daughter, Clara (Sarah-Anne Martinez). Margaret and Clara are in Florence so that Margaret can show Clara the highlights of her honeymoon, many years ago, that she took with Clara’s father, Roy Johnson (Rob Richardson). I assumed Roy was dead, but no, he is at home, cocktail in hand, taking care of business to afford the girls their trip. It is here in the piazza that Clara meets Fabrizio (Joshua Grosso), who is immediately, hopelessly stricken with love. Margaret does not approve, for two reasons – one, a childhood accident with a horse has left Clara with the mental capacity of a twelve-year-old, and two, she enjoys the dependency that Clara has on her. Fabrizio persists, and Margaret and Clara meet his formidable yet welcoming family – his father, Signor Naccarelli (William Michals), mom Signora Naccarelli (Rebecca Pitcher), brother Giuseppe (Alexander Ross) and Giuseppe’s wife, Franca (Rebekah Rae Robles). Fabrizio proposes marriage, Clara accepts, and Margaret escapes with her to Rome in the night. Will love win out?
Marianna Bassham, Nael Nacer in Huntington’s ‘The Triumph of Love’. Photos by Liza Voll
‘The Triumph of Love.’ Written by Pierre Carlet de Marivaux. Adapted by Stephen Wadsworth. Directed by Loretta Greco. Scenic and Costume Design by Junghyun Georgia Lee. Hair, Wig, and Makeup Design by Tom Watson. Lighting Design by Christopher Akerlind. Composer and Sound Design by Fan Zhang. Presented by The Huntington Theatre, 264 Huntington Ave., Boston through April 6, 2025.
By Shelley A. Sackett
Pierre Carlet de Marivaux’s “The Triumph of Love,” which premiered in 1732 and is at The Huntington through April 6, is like a trifle dessert, with light spongey layers of raucously funny deceptions, disguises and mistaken identities soaked in a sherry-spiked pastoral period set design. Instead of the traditional alternating tiers of sweet jams and custard, however, Marivaux has substituted a bitter concoction of calculated cruelty and manipulation. The end result is a sugar-coated confection that leaves a very bitter taste in the mouth.
