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The Lehman Trilogy

“Genuinely epic… It’s the miracle of three men, on a nearly naked stage, resurrecting vanished lives and worlds, leaving an oddly indelible afterglow in that final fade into darkness.”
The New York Times, Critic’s Pick

“This is theatrical storytelling at its most thrilling…Much of the production’s impact is due also to the genius of the design elements, housed to perfection in the massive Drill Hall at the Park Avenue Armory”
The Hollywood Reporter

From the arrival of three brothers from Bavaria to America in search of a new life to the collapse of the firm they established, triggering the largest financial crisis in history, the story of the Lehman Brothers traces the trajectory of western capitalism by following the fortunes of a single immigrant family. Originally documented by Italian playwright Stefano Massini, this vast and poetic play gets a thrilling new life at the Armory following a sold-out run at the National Theatre in London in an adaptation by Ben Power and directed by Sam Mendes.

Simon Russell Beale, Adam Godley, and Ben Miles reprise their critically acclaimed portrayals of the Lehman Brothers, their sons, and grandsons spanning nearly two centuries and told in three parts on a single evening. Es Devlin’s set coupled with Luke Halls’s video design provides a panorama of a changing American landscape against which the dynastic drama unfolds. Making its highly anticipated North American premiere, this electrifying production serves as a parable of the shifting definition of the American dream.

Artist Talk: The Lehman Trilogy
Saturday, March 23, 2019 at 6:00pm

Watch the Conversation

Director Sam Mendes and Ben Power discuss adapting Stefano Massini’s epic and realizing the immigrant story in modern times. Playwright Lynn Nottage moderates.

North American Premiere
by Stefano Massini
adapted by Ben Power
Sam Mendes, Director
Es Devlin, Set Designer
Katrina Lindsay, Costume Designer
Luke Halls, Video Designer
Jon Clark, Lighting Designer
Nick Powell, Composer and Sound Designer
Candida Caldicot, Music Director
Polly Bennett, Movement

Starring Simon Russell Beale, Adam Godley, and Ben Miles

Produced by the National Theatre and Neal Street Productions,
in collaboration with Park Avenue Armory.

#PAALehman


The Lehman Trilogy is supported in part by a generous grant from the Arthur F. and Alice E. Adams Foundation. Additional sponsorship support is provided by SHOWTIME. The Lehman Trilogy is also is supported in part by public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Image: Tightrope walker photography by Sorted | New York photography courtesy of National Archives and Records Administration

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