The Hills Are Alive...With the Sounds of Women’s Plays

Jez Butterworth’s latest play has just opened on Broadway. “The Hills of California” is about a mother determined to turn her four daughters into a famous singing group. Ironically, down the street from that play, another the marquee blasts AUDRA-GYPSY: Yes, anticipating the great Audra McDonald’s take on the most famous stage mother in theatrical history. Across the same street, another reads SUNSET BOULEVARD, anticipating the hugely successful version of that one, coming from the West End. The much-touted Nicole Scherzinger is obviously ready for her Broadway closeup. Julianna Margulies will be a likely Tony nominee for her performance in the just-opening Left On Tenth, based on Delia Ephron’s memoir.

I am not forgetting two recent Tony winners doing big business: those would be Suffs, about women getting the vote, (let alone their own show) and Hell’s Kitchen, Alicia Keys’ bio-musical selling out most every night. Patti Lupone and Mia Farrow are doing well as unlikely Roommates. Sutton Foster is starring in the latest of her seemingly endless array of shows. (Under The Mattress)

There is more on the way, including Succession star Sarah Snook’s one-woman Olivier-winning show. (In which she plays some 25 parts) She could follow fellow-Brit Jodie Comer, who took home the Tony doing all the parts in Prima Facie.

Meanwhile, off-Broadway is where much of the female action is happening. The Counter, written by Meghan Kennedy, is playing at the intimate Laura Pels. This powerful little piece features a waitress who interacts with a regular customer who has an odd request for what he wants in his coffee. Ultimately, it is about much more.

The WP Theatre on the Upper West is now offering Dirty Laundry, which asks questions like: are you still a daughter when your mother dies? Are you still the other woman when the first woman is gone? And maybe more importantly–how do you clean all that Dirty Laundry? Yep, writer, director and producer all women.

“Am I drawn to women’s projects?” asks producer Laurie Bernhard. “ Yes. Their stories are complicated and the exploration of them fearless, willing to dive into the messiness of life. I find women wide open to collaborating with the same purpose...the best play possible. Women speak their minds with a desire to move the needle and for the most part are open to trying something different, unexpected, and new without prejudging what will and might not work.”

The Irish Rep currently is earning strong reviews for its production of The Beacon, written by Nancy Harris and starring Kate Mulgrew. This is a mother-son story. As is Ashes& Ink, now rehearsing for a three-week off Broadway run at the AMT Theater. Written by Martha Pichey, and starring Kathryn Erbe, this is an emotionally powerful piece about a child’s addiction. “I wanted to confront the painful questions about how far a parent will go to protect their child,” says Pichey.

It’s not like these women are not taking on issues outside the home. Erika Sheffer’s new play, Vladimir, has just started at Manhattan Theater Club’s City Center Stage 1. “When they try to silence you, get louder,” pleads the promotion here. That, in fact, may be a good motto for all the feminine action filling New York stages now.

It has certainly defined the work and determination of Dale Franzen, who has become one producer everyone wants. Ever since she made her name with Hadestown. She heard Anais Mitchell’s music and somehow envisioned the album as a musical. Yes, it won the Tony. She also produced a show in Los Angeles about the female members of the Supreme Court and is now one of the forces behind Left On Tenth.

“Well, since we have been literally erased from history, I am very much about putting women to work and having our stories told,” says Franzen. “And those are the tales I am drawn to. But it basically has to be a compelling story that hasn’t been told or a being told in a brilliant way.”