Cast and Creative Team Set for THE LEHMAN TRILOGY at Guthrie Theater

The Guthrie Theater revealed the cast and creative team for The Lehman Trilogy by Stefano Massini, adapted by Ben Power and directed by Arin Arbus. In this epic portrayal of the American dream, three actors depict the real-life story of the Lehman brothers across multiple generations, from their arrival on the shores of America to the spectacular collapse of the international finance firm that bore their name in 2008. The show begins previews on Saturday, September 14 and will play through Sunday, October 13. To accommodate the play's longer run time (approximately 3 hours, 35 minutes, including two intermissions), matinees will begin at 12:30 p.m. and evening shows will begin at 7 p.m.

Single and group tickets are now on sale through the Box Office or online at guthrietheater.org. Accessibility services (ASL-interpreted, audio-described and open-captioned performances) are also available on select dates.

Artistic Director Joseph Haj remarked, “The Lehman Brothers corporation was synonymous with Wall Street for over a century and helped shape the fabric of America's current economic infrastructure. Ben Power's adaptation of Stefano Massini's extraordinary epic follows the rise and fall of this once-global financial juggernaut, in turn revealing the highs and lows of the American dream.” Haj continued, “I am thrilled to kick off our 2024–2025 Season with this extraordinary play that invites us to contemplate questions of ethics, hubris and power — within the context of business and, perhaps as importantly, within ourselves.”

The Lehman Trilogy begins in 1844 when Heyum Lehmann arrives in New York from Bavaria to make his way in a new world. After changing his name to Henry Lehman, he and his brothers start a small fabric business that evolves over generations to become a powerful international finance firm. More than a century later, the firm spectacularly collapses into bankruptcy, leaving unprecedented disaster in its wake. This sweeping generational saga questions how we define heroes and villains — and where we draw the line between them. Requiring tour-de-force performances by three actors playing multiple characters, the real-life story of the Lehman brothers unfolds with surprising elegance and astonishing theatricality.

The Lehman Trilogy transferred to Broadway in March 2020 following a successful run in London that earned five Olivier Award nominations. In 2022, the Broadway production received five Tony Awards, including Best Play. The play continues to amass critical acclaim and be produced at theaters across the U.S. and the U.K.

The cast of The Lehman Trilogy includes Edward Gero (Guthrie: debut) as Henry Lehman, Mark Nelson (Guthrie: debut) as Mayer Lehman and William Sturdivant (Guthrie: The History Plays, Hamlet, The Tempest) as Emanuel Lehman.

The creative team includes Arin Arbus (Director), Marsha Ginsberg (Scenic Designer), Anita Yavich (Costume Designer), Yi Zhao (Lighting Designer), Michael Costagliola (Sound Designer/Composer), Hannah Wasileski (Projection Designer), Carla Steen (Resident Dramaturg), Keely Wolter (Vocal Coach), Lorenzo Pisoni (Movement Coordinator), Pamela S. Nadell (Jewish Studies Consultant), Dr. Soyica Colbert (Historical Consultant), Jennifer Liestman (Resident Casting Director), Karl Alphonso (Stage Manager), Z Makila (Assistant Stage Manager), Anna Moskowitz (Assistant Director) and McCorkle Casting, Ltd. (NYC Casting Consultant).

Stefano Massini (Playwright) is an internationally renowned novelist and playwright, and he is the first Italian author to receive a Tony Award. He regularly contributes to the Italian newspaper la Repubblica and currently serves as Artistic Consultant at Piccolo Teatro di Milano – Teatro d'Europa. His works, including The Lehman Trilogy, have been translated into 30 languages, and his plays have been performed in more theaters around the world than any other living Italian writer, with works produced as far afield as Iran and Korea and staged by directors such as Luca Ronconi and Sam Mendes. In addition to The Lehman Trilogy, his most acclaimed works include Intractable Woman, a decades-long international success; Ladies Football Club, which premiered to wide acclaim in Spain; and 7 Minutes, hailed by Le Monde as a “masterpiece,” at the Comédie Française. Massini has won numerous Italian awards, including the Premio Vittorio Tondelli and Premio Ubu, as well as a Tony Award, Dramatist Guild Award and Outer Critics Circle Award. Qualcosa sui Lehman (The Lehman Trilogy) was among the most acclaimed novels published in Italy in recent years and won countless awards. In 2022, he completed his 10-year writing work on the birth of the atomic bomb in a play titled Manhattan Project. His new play adaptation based on Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf will debut in October 2024.

Ben Power (Adapter) is a writer for theater and the screen. For the last 12 years, he has worked at The National Theatre in London as Associate Director and Deputy Artistic Director and was responsible for the Shed, The National Theatre's temporary studio theater. Power's work for the screen includes Munich – The Edge of War and The Hollow Crown (BAFTA nominations for Best Single Drama and Best Mini-Series). His work for the stage includes adaptations of D.H. Lawrence's Husbands and Sons, Euripides' Medea and Ibsen's Emperor and Galilean (National Theatre); A Tender Thing (Royal Shakespeare Company); and Complicité's A Disappearing Number (Olivier and Evening Standard Awards). He was Associate Director of Headlong where he adapted Pirandello's Six Characters in Search of an Author and Marlowe's Doctor Faustus. He is currently creating a TV series for Working Title Films and is published by Faber & Faber.

Arin Arbus (Director) recently directed Waiting for Godot and Denis Johnson's Des Moines at Theatre for a New Audience as well as Abe Koogler's Deep Blue Sound at Clubbed Thumb. In 2019, she made her Broadway debut directing Terrence McNally's Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune (Tony nomination for Best Revival), starring six-time Tony winner Audra McDonald and two-time Oscar nominee Michael Shannon. For a decade, Arbus served as Associate Artistic Director at Theatre for a New Audience — an Off-Broadway company whose mission is to develop and vitalize the performance of Shakespeare and other great dramatic works. There she directed productions of Othello, Measure for Measure, Macbeth, The Taming of the Shrew, Much Ado About Nothing, King Lear, The Winter's Tale, The Merchant of Venice, Wilder's The Skin of Our Teeth (Obie Award) and repertory productions of Strindberg's The Father and Ibsen's A Doll's House. She has directed productions and taught courses at Yale School of Drama, The Juilliard School, NYU Grad Acting, Columbia University, Fordham University, The New School and Brooklyn College. She was a Drama League Directing Fellow, Princess Grace Award recipient, Samuel H. Scripps Award recipient and member of Soho Rep's Writer/Director Lab.

Related Events

Post-Play Discussions
Patrons are invited to stay in the theater following select performances for a 20-minute conversation about the production facilitated by Guthrie staff. Cast members may join the discussion as they are able. Post-play discussions are supported by Fredrikson & Byron. 

Wednesday, September 25 at 12:30 p.m.

Sunday, September 29 at 12:30 p.m.
Tuesday, October 1 at 7 p.m.
Saturday, October 12 at 12:30 p.m.

Accessible Performances
ASL-Interpreted Performances
American Sign Language interpreters sign the performance as it plays out onstage.

Friday, October 11 at 7 p.m.
Saturday, October 12 at 12:30 p.m.

Audio-Described Performances
Audio describers provide live verbal descriptions of the action, costumes and scenery for people who are blind or have low vision.

Friday, October 4 at 7 p.m.
Saturday, October 12 at 12:30 p.m.

Open-Captioned Performances
LED screens display text simultaneously with the performance onstage.

Wednesday, October 2 at 12:30 p.m.
Friday, October 4 at 7 p.m.
Saturday, October 5 at 12:30 p.m.
Sunday, October 6 at 12:30 p.m.
Wednesday, October 9 at 12:30 p.m.

The Guthrie also offers ASL-interpreted, audio-described and open-captioned performances upon request. Requests must be received at least two weeks in advance and can be directed to 612.225.6390 or accessibility@guthrietheater.org.

Ticket Information

Single tickets range from $29 to $82 (handling fees may apply). Single and group tickets (minimum requirement of 15 per group) may be purchased through the Box Office at 612.377.2224 (single), 1.877.447.8243 (toll-free), 612.225.6244 (group) or online at guthrietheater.org.

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