Susan Granger’s review of “The Lehman Trilogy” (Nederlander Theater on Broadway)
Broadway’s back – with Covid precautions firmly in place. Theatergoers are required not only to bring proof of vaccination but also a photo ID for verification. If you ‘forget’ any of these items, your ticket is promptly refunded and you’re urged to come back another time.
Having run that gauntlet (which, admittedly, does slow the entrance process), you’re reminded several times to keep your mask in place, covering both your nose and mouth.
Beginning with a brief prologue, set in a plexiglass office in a Manhattan skyscraper, “The Lehman Trilogy” chronicles the fascinating rise and fall of the Lehman brothers, who journeyed from Bavaria (Germany) to America to seek their fortune.
Arriving in New York Harbor in 1844, Heyum (Americanized to Henry) Lehmann (Simon Russell Beale), son of an Orthodox Jewish cattle merchant, settled in Montgomery, Alabama, opening a small general store, selling clothing and fabrics. His ambitious younger brothers Emanuel (Adrian Lester) and Mayer (Adam Godley) soon joined him and expanded the family business.
Before the Civil War, the Lehmans were cotton brokers. Afterwards, they opened a bank, financing Reconstruction. They capitalized railroads, the Panama Canal and survived the 1929 Depression. They invested in airlines and backed productions of films like “King Kong” and “Gone With the Wind.”
Gradually, over the decades, their descendants transformed their business – from selling cotton to selling financial services, like collateralized debt obligations. At the same time, their assimilation into the American mainstream increased as their observance of Jewish traditions/customs declined.
Written in Italian by Stefano Massini, translated by Richard Dixon, and adapted by Ben Power, it’s classic Greek tragedy. Utilizing the ancient philosophy – ‘Hubris-Ate-Nemesis’ – it details how reckless enthusiasm, disregarding moral rules in an overestimation of one’s abilities and economic power, inevitably leads to punishment and destruction.
What’s extraordinarily brilliant in this storytelling tour-de-force is director Sam Mendes’ casting these three skillful actors in myriad roles, utilizing minimal costume changes and few props. In London, they were collectively nominated as Best Actor at the Olivier Awards, the British equivalent of the Tonys, as I suspect (and hope) they will be here.
Running 3 hours, 15 minutes with two intermissions, “The Lehman Trilogy” plays through January 2, 2022 at the Nederlander Theater at 208 West 41st Street.