‘The Lehman Trilogy’ Theater Review: Sam Mendes Directs a Family’s Financial Undoing

When a play holds your attention although three hours or more, the writer, with assist from a gifted director, cause to exist doing something right. still much of the theatergoing public thinks it’s a plus to escape a play can fewer than 90 minutes, a growing amount of writers are taking the time to allow their stories unfold, their characters develop. It’s nearly a trend among new plays above the boards can New York City. can appendix to the long-running “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” above Broadway, there’s currently Suzan-Lori Parks’s “White Noise” can the Public, Jeremy O. Harris’s “Daddy” can the Pershing Square, and Jez Butterworth’s “The Ferryman” above Broadway. And now there’s also Stefano Massini’s “The Lehman Trilogy,” which opened Wednesday can the Park street Armory although a limited run.

The three-act “Lehman Trilogy” clocks can on three hours and 20 minutes, and was originally conceived although a radio play that lasted five hours above Italy’s Rai Radio 3. It first aired can 2012, besides directly took chart although a play that traveled throughout Europe ago it landed final year can London’s National Theatre, where Sam Mendes directed the English version by Ben Power. It’s that produce that plays the Armory until April 20 ago returning to London to blank above the West goal afterward this spring.

“The Lehman Trilogy” can the Armory surplus same much a radio play, albeit a shorter one than the original. It’s an American saga of three real-life Jewish immigrants from Bavaria who, pre-Civil War, attain can Alabama to blank a little preserve that grows to fetch the fourth-largest investment coast can the United States ago going spectacularly bankrupt can 2008.

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The audacity of “The Lehman Trilogy” is that Mendes’ bid keeps it radio-play simple. The three Lehman brothers are played by Simon Russell Beale (Henry), Adam Godley (Mayer) and Ben Miles (Emanuel) — who also play the brothers’ wives, children and a little dozen other characters that total dress the same dark desire coats (the serviceable costumes are by Katrina Lindsay) that the men wore upon first stepping foot can America.

The three actors don’t hence much conduct the novel although they say it to us, deduce with “he said” and “she said.” (Those who sat along “Gatz,” the eight-hour reading of “The large Gatsby,” will acknowledge the experience.) besides it’s best no to near your eyes simply to listen. The huge Armory space is now a proscenium stage, deduce with a curtain that rises to disclose Es Devlin’s revolving transparent cup box set. It features one large modern board room, an office lounge, and another smaller room filled with packing boxes that frequently compose their manner to the other two rooms to responsibility although chairs, stairs, counter tops, a tower and a friendly of crypt (the brothers eat nightmares).

As the cup box turns, this manner and then that way, the three actors walk from room to room. Occasionally the box stops, and that’s greatly when a entire setting is although strong enacted or told to us, besides no always. The stock just crash of 1929 sees Robert Lehman (Godley), the son of Philip Lehman (Beale), although he attempts to own the company afloat in spite of nagging from his wife (also played by Beale) and Philip, still a dozen or hence stockbrokers (played by Miles) commit suicide.

I grew up thinking that most of these economical types jumped out the office window, besides “The Lehman Trilogy” tells us that many preferred blowing their heads off with a pistol.

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It’s a excursion de energy of bid and writing and Devlin’s attitude rarely rests below Jon Clark’s usually dramatic lighting. better yet, the designer’s large cup box is framed by a IMAX-like cyclorama that keeps updating us above the physical arise of Manhattan’s ever-changing skyline — until we’re literally swamped can anything besides office buildings (stunning videos by Luke Halls). also thrilling is the depiction of a jungle eliminate much earlier can the novel that the first Lehman brothers use to fetch their preserve from a pop-and-pop deed to a headmaster energy can the cotton business.

We know a fate approximately cotton can “The Lehman Trilogy.” We know nearly nothing approximately the coffee business, flat although it made the boys far more money — or hence we are told. Massini performs that friendly of sleight-of-hand throughout the evening. although instance, still we’re being dazzled by Mendes’ bid of the 1929 stock just crash, we never know how Robert Lehman indeed saved the company — cabin that he worked hard.