‘THE LEHMAN TRILOGY’: (left to right) Adam Godley, Simon Russell Beale & Adrian Lester. Photo: Julieta Cervantes

 

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THE LEHMAN TRILOGY
By Stefano Massini
Adapted by Ben Power
Directed by Sam Mendes
Through January 2, 2022
Nederlander Theatre
208 West 41st Street
(877-250-2929), https://thelehmantrilogy.com/

 

By David NouNou

Once in a generation comes that elusive masterpiece; a play that sparks the imagination, grabs the heart, and hauntingly seeps into the subconscious and stays with you forever. A play has to seize your attention from the first image, and when we saw it in London in June 2019, it has remained with us till now.

The first image that appears in The Lehman Trilogy is of three men dressed in formal attire in a chromed high-rise office building, awaiting the funereal end of something.

Then Part I begins with the title “The Brothers.”

It is 1844 and Hayum Lehmann, (Simon Russell Beale) the son of a cattle merchant, arrives at New York’s Ellis Island from Rimpar, Bavaria. The immigration officer, not understanding the name, dubs him Henry Lehman who then settles in Birmingham, Alabama to open a general store. In 1847, Mendel Lehmann (Adrian Lester) arrives from Germany to join his brother and becomes Emanuel Lehman. Finally, in 1850, the last brother Mayer Lehman (Adam Godley) arrives to the firm which becomes the Lehman Brothers. They are in the business of buying and reselling cotton in the South. They are of Jewish heritage, with strict Jewish observances.

Now that the triumvirate is complete, the dynamics begin. Henry and Mayer base themselves in Birmingham while Emanuel’s restlessness for more moves him to New York. As their firm is growing, Henry, the eldest, dies in 1855 of yellow fever. The formal attire that costume designer Katrina Lindsay created is multipurpose. The actors wear the same articles of clothing throughout the play. In the opening scene these costumes represented outfits for bankers and brokers, in the beginning of the play it was the attire for that time period, and at Henry’s death, they are used as black suits, what mourners wear to sit Shiva for a whole week.

Part II is “Fathers and Son.”

The first part gave us the initial introduction to the three Lehman’s, the second part introduces us to the marriages and wives and the generations that came after them. All the ensuing characters are played by the same three above mentioned actors.  It is here that we meet Philip, son of Emmanuel, Herbert, the son of Mayer, and the astute and ruthless Robert “Robbie” Lehman, the grandson of Emanuel and thus the advent of greed and corruption begins. As the country gets closer to the 20th Century, the more Lehman Brothers grows, exponentially, the avarice and lawlessness ensues. As Mayer dies in 1897 and then Emanuel in 1907, the Jewish observances and respect for Shiva dwindles lower and lower. The mourning period is shortened to fit for business duties. By 1929, the Lehman Corporation is becoming an investment company.

Part III is “The Immortal.”

As the country goes through turmoil: Wall Street crashes, the depression, World War II, Pearl Harbor, Lehman Brothers weathers all the storms and ultimately profits. In 1965, Robbie Lehman sets up a trading department at Lehman Brothers. By the time he dies, there is no mourning period; after all, banks and Wall Street do not close for mere mortals. In 1984, American Express bought Lehman Brothers and disposed of them in 1994. In 2007, Lehman Brothers was entangled in the subprime mortgage lending crisis, and in 2008, they filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition. As hundreds of billions of dollars were wiped out in bad loans, the financial collapse in 2008 becomes the worst crisis since the depression.

The three men dressed in formal attire in a chromed high tower office building have seen the funereal end and the closing of Lehman Brothers.

Stefano Massini has written an epic play in scale and grandeur. It involves immigrants, Judaism, beliefs, family, work ethics, greed, monopoly, crises from the scaling up to the ultimate drop. It takes in consideration the people it affected and the lives it shattered.

Sam Mendes, with his formidable insight, has brought vision and focus to this formidable play on a massive scale. Between him and his set designer Es Devlin, they created a visual stunning world of glass, chrome, cubicles, representing, stores, banks, offices, buildings and skyscrapers. The set is constantly spinning or in motion to represent any place that the action takes place. Everything is magnificently lit by lighting designer Jon Clark to capture every mood and nuance of any scene.

Now, all this would serve the mind and the optics, but you need the actors to breathe life into these words and set the stage on fire. Still with us are Simon Russell Beale, Adam Godley, and the new addition is Adrian Lester. What was once an intertwined, seamless unit now gives us pause. Mr. Lester has replaced Ben Miles, and this makes it more challenging to visualize them as three brothers coming from Bavaria and that they’re related. However, in theatre, one must suspend disbelief.  In the London production, one marveled at their precision, delivering their lines and playing off each other. They complemented each other magnificently. Now, you just have great acting; the seamless balance has been thrown off.

As a play, The Lehman Trilogy is still the masterpiece we saw in London.

 

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published October 14, 2021
Reviewed at October 2021 press preview performance.

 

‘THE LEHMAN TRILOGY’: (left to right) Adam Godley, Simon Russell Beale & Adrian Lester.
Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

 

‘THE LEHMAN TRILOGY’: Adrian Lester & Adam Godley. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘THE LEHMAN TRIOLOGY’: Adrian Lester. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

 

‘THE LEHMAN TRILOGY’: Adam Godley. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

 

‘THE LEHMAN TRILOGY’: The cast. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.