Review: THE LEHMAN TRILOGY at Ahmanson Theatre

Lehman Trilogy, a Triumphant Saga of the American Dream

Three men stand on a stage for over three hours, trekking through 150 years of history in The Lehman Trilogy and it's the most invigorating evening imaginable. Directed by Sam Mendes and written by Stefano Massini-and adapted by National Theatre dramaturg Ben Power -- the play is a remarkable journey of three immigrant brothers from Bavaria, who travel to America to start a small business that evolves into the money-making machine known as Lehman Bros.

Henry Lehman (Simon Russell Beale) touches down on Elis Island, with no money, no connections, no prospects. He ventures to Alabama and opens a fabric shop. Henry is the Head, the brains of the family. Next arrives Emanuel (Howard W. Overshown), the arm of the family, the might. With Henry, he paints a sign on the door announcing the family's arrival. Last, comes the baby brother, Mayer (Adam Godley), the potato. He doesn't get the respect he deserves, but he keeps the head and the arm from pummeling each other. Now three, the brothers expand. From fabrics to raw cotton to banking to investments to, eventually, subprime mortgaging, thanks to the next two generations of Lehman's. But the opening moments of the play remind audiences that on September 15, 2008, it will ALL come crashing down.

Massini fills his writing with rich prose that are scrumptious to the ear. The rhythms of the language and the constant repetitions are lyrical. Characters either reiterate the same thing as if it's an innate task or, in the case of the Jewish Mourner's Kaddish, they restate their rituals but those customs erode over the years, becoming less and less essential. Judaism plays a central role, but not in an isolating manner, but like Fiddler On The Roof, to unite all fabrics of people. The play draws from the Bible with stories of Noah and the Tower of Babel, illustrating how these three brothers represent the human conscience, filled with wonder, tradition, and hunger for wealth and power.

Mendes's direction is a marvel. The audience concentrates on the words because they're told with such conviction by the lead actors. While Overshown has joined the cast for Los Angeles, Beale and Godley have inhabited their roles at The National Theatre in London and on Broadway last year at the Nederlander Theatre. Despite that, all three actors have a unifying essence, a familial bond. The three play many roles besides the brothers and their descendants: from plantation owners to the young women they court and eventually marry to the eventual partners of their firm who do NOT carry their name...nor their traditions. Instead of witnessing three actors flaunt impressive impressions, the audience has been deceived into believing the production carries a cast of many.

Mendes's visual imagery captures both the isolation (a rotating set of glass rooms where the three actors scurry around like mice in a maze) and precariousness (a tightrope walker sliding above Wall Street again suggests Fiddler on the Roof) of the family legacy. The actors write in magic marker on the glass walls which eventually looks chaotic and mad. The office set by Es Devlin also evokes the connectedness of the brothers as they remain together in these coupled rooms. Luke Halls' 180-degree Panoramic projections land the audience in the appropriate mindset for each scene and is utilized at dizzying effect in the "...And The Beat Goes On" sequence as bon vivant grandson Bobby (Godley) dances a twist on the table as the stock figures on a computer screen speed around in a tornado. The family has built a monster of money and it has returned to engulf its makers.

Moving, intelligent, and bitterly funny, The Lehman Trilogy is a force of theatre: visceral, literate, and provocative. Not since The Godfather films has an epic encapsulated everything that makes America great...and toxic.

The Lehman Trilogy will be at the Ahmanson Theatre until April 10th. The performance is Three Hours and 20 minutes with two intermissions. Tickets can be purchased at https://www.centertheatregroup.org/

Photo Credit: Craig Schwartz

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