Theatrical astonishment is back on the Broadway boards. The Lehman Trilogy, which has conquered and enraptured audiences since it first appeared, has finally arrived at the Nederlander after a pandemic pause. New Yorkers who missed the production’s instantly sold-out limited engagement at the Park Avenue Armory in 2019 have 12 weeks before it moves on to brief stops in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Miss it at your peril.
A three-hour-plus drama about the unparalleled rise and disastrous fall of the Lehman financial dynasty might not sound like indispensable viewing to some. But that’s where the magic comes in. The Lehman Trilogy is intriguing, involving, and sparklingly filled with theatrical wizardry. Wizard-in-chief is director Sam Mendes, yes; but honors extend to just about everyone on and behind the stage. This includes Stefano Massini, the Italian playwright; Ben Power, who with Mendes fashioned this English-language version for London’s National Theatre; and the entire design and music teams. Not to mention the cast of dozens—or rather, three actors sliding with quicksilver ease into myriad roles of varied ages and genders without bothering to change out of their dour, 19th-century garb.
The Lehman Trilogy is a comprehensive but crystal-clear chronicle of three penniless German immigrants to the United States from Bavaria, the first arriving in 1844. The Americanization of the woefully out-of-place Bavarian brothers Henry (Simon Russell Beale), Emanuel (Adrian Lester), and Mayer (Adam Godley) eventually brings them to the realization that there is far more to be earned by being what they term “middlemen.” Especially because in this guise they needn’t grow the material, manufacture the material, or even personally handle it: Just take a substantial guaranteed profit from the seller and an immoderate profit on the other end. Which culminates, 164 years later, in financial bankruptcy and the Great Recession of 2008.
[Read Frank Scheck’s ★★★★★ review here.]
[Read our London and Park Avenue Armory reviews here.]
There are two major differences in the production now ensconced on 41st Street. Both, most happily, serve to enhance the evening’s magic. The altogether extraordinary Beale and equally adept Godley are now joined by a new compatriot. Lester—an Olivier winner for his performance as Bobby in Mendes’ 1995 London production of Company—made a most memorable New York debut in 2014 as Ira Aldridge in Lolita Chakrabarti’s Othello-infused Red Velvet. He brings added dimension to the formerly less-interesting brother Emanuel and the multiple roles essayed over the course of the evening (including his impressive work in the Act 3 “Black Thursday” section).
The other difference is spatial. At both the National and the Armory, the extra-wide stage space served to isolate Es Devlin’s remarkable, cube-like set. Seen in a more traditional proscenium house, that same set now dominates our view. This serves to make the action more viscerally immediate. The spatial relationship also seems to compress the expanse of the projection screens, enhancing the extreme power and ultimate frenzy of Luke Halls’ video design. Let us not overlook stellar contributions from costume designer Katrina Lindsay, lighting designer Jon Clark, composer/sound designer Nick Powell, and music director Candida Caldicot who is ever-present downstage at the upright. The piece was first performed as an Italian radio play in 2012, followed by stage productions in France and Italy. It was alchemist Mendes and then-National Theatre deputy director Power who translated and transformed Massini’s original five-hour, large cast epic into the marvel that is now in view.
When we first saw The Lehman Trilogy in London in 2018, we instantly rated it as the finest theatrical experience since Jez Butterworth’s The Ferryman (which, most significantly, was also spearheaded by Mendes). Three years and a pandemic later, that appraisal more than holds. The Lehman Trilogy is a unique stage experience not to be missed. Treat yourself now, as you just might feel the necessity of paying the astonishing Beale-Godley-Lester team a return visit before they depart.
The Lehman Trilogy opened Oct. 14, 2021, at the Nederlander Theatre and runs through Jan. 2, 2022. Tickets and information: thelehmantrilogy.com
