Had the good fortune to see the Lehman Trilogy at the Gillian Lynne theatre at the beginning of February 23. They’re at its finest where story telling, writing, acting, directing, music, set design, sound design, video design all come together perfectly. First of all, an absolutely fantastic theatre for this play. The Gillian Lynne is almost in the round (not quite) and this is a perfect way for the audience to peer into the spinning jewel box as it reveals its story. I loved how everything was so creatively pulled together to tell an epic family saga through nearly 200 years. It could so easily have become a complicated mess, but the narrative skipped around the revolving set and not once did you ever got lost in what was happening, who was talking, which of the many many characters we were enjoying, or what complex instrument of capitalism was being constructed. A real testament to the whole piece. Though I appreciate your view that more of the characters could have been displayed, I really admired the precision focus on what the narrative wanted to leave out as much as what it wanted to say. I have heard criticism that the third act is rushed, but it was not. The piece was cleverly paced to continually accelerate as it jumped from generation to generation from about half way through act one once the foundation had been completed. The fact we reached the point of spinning and uncontrollably dancing through the years tells you so much of the emotion and the dizzy ride that led to the downfall which was brilliantly punctuated by the almost silent end. There is enough written of 2008 elsewhere to read further, but the play told the audience everything they needed to know, by making the clear point that the whole finance industry were dancing the dance. It was just Lehman that was sacrificed to cover the rest. Fantastic storytelling. 5 out of 5.
I saw this on Broadway and The Lehman Trilogy is perhaps one of the most brilliant pieces of theatre I have experienced. It represents, on several levels, what only live theatre can do. It's a master class in acting, dozens of characters being represented by 3 actors. The stage design creates a literal flow through the decades and the scenic design is both literal and figurative representations of place and mood without ever being distracting. And, as you mention, this complex story with many characters over many years is never confusing. There is so much packed into it but it is like a great novel where you can't wait for the pages to keep turning. One of the most brilliant things which got a small mention from you is the music. A single pianist evoking place and time and character and tension and change, so integral to the storytelling that the piano becomes a fourth character. And the ending (warning...bit of a spoiler here) was an unexpected bold move. We are all familiar with the news images of the Lehman employees carrying out their boxes of belongings and, after spending hours with 3 actors, seemingly out of nowhere about 18 actors show up to carry out their boxes of belongings. The same boxes which have been used, to great effect, throughout the show as a variety of set pieces. I found it all to be stunning.
Saw this at the end of January. We felt exactly the same. Couldn't fault the directing, acting, design, etc, but we didn't feel anything for a bunch of rich people whose downfall caused so much hardship.
Fun fact when they were workshopping the play at the NT, originally the cast was meant to be a lot bigger and they kept cutting down until they realise they could do it with 3 actors. Also you won’t find the script of this production due to the original author not letting Ben Power release his version.
@@sherrywang9219 oh, I just checked, that's very new cuz it's taken Stefenio ages to agree to the publication of ben powers' version but I'm pleased they've decided to release it. This version would be great for auditions.
I have not seen the play, but I liked the novel quite a bit, and in a touch of meta I am writing this on my phone in a coffee shop on the block in Montgomery, Alabama where the Lehman Brothers general store was located and where they first started dealing in cotton & commodities futures. (As a UK gay history tie-in, Oscar Wilde performed a block away, but 20 years after the Lehmans left.) I can't imagine there's much cute merch in the theater, but I'll be glad to send you a locally grown cotton branch photographed next to the former Lehman store :)
I was born in Alabama and spend my teen years in Montgomery. My mother lived there until she died in 2021. I saw this on Broadway. I agree with MickeyJo's review that the scope of the story felt limited and diminished my appreciation of it. I first felt disappointment in not hearing more about how the Lehmen Brothers impacted Alabama and vise versa. The play touched on how they had dealings with plantation owners and the relationships they built. But this was a time when cotton made Alabama rich by the toil and torture of slaves. The impact of those years can still be seen today so I am upset that it was not addressed. It still is an excellent production and I have no regrets about seeing it. Perhaps, as MickeyJo said, it needs to be a Netflix production to cover more material.
@@ThomasDowdyWinslett The Lehmans themselves owned slaves and accepted them as collateral and payment. They saw them as property, same as people born in the slave based economy did.
Interesting about the set function stoppage. I experienced that at Moulin Rouge at Piccadilly in October, as well as Billy Elliott in NY previews, where stoppage was so significant that Daldry addressed the audience post-performance to save their ticket for free admission to any future performance.
I saw a similar show stop with a revolving stage malfunctioning at Funny Girl last summer. Stopped the show for about 15 or 20 minutes. (The revolve suddenly stopped revolving in the middle of a scene change, quickly enough that some flowers and picture frames fell off a set piece, and Ramin instinctively shielded Julie Benko in case something was falling.)
I'm looking forward to seeing this show here in Chicago, where it will be staged by a local company, rather than in a Broadway tour. It's going up in a smaller house with a smaller budget, so it won't have an exorbitant set. Hoping for the best!
Suggestion: idk if it’s common In reviews but could you please do summaries of each of your future reviews? I really like knowing what the show is generally about as I’m hearing what you thought of the play/musical.
I saw this when it toured the USA. Fantastic direction and performances!! As a banker I too was afraid the show was going to be a boring and dry. SM deserving of his Tony for Direction & all the other Tony’s.
I really enjoyed the play but was so tired by the end and was worried that we still had 3 more CEOs to cover but they kinda sped through it. I don’t think it really counts to say 3 white men since they were Jewish, and that meant something different than “white” then, but at the same time they are profiting off slavery and I read even owned slaves. so obviously it’s complicated. I thought it really wasn’t about 3 great men of history but rather how all this greatness they built and all this legacy just kinda goes “poof”
@@MickeyJoTheatre I’m not hating Joe but I’m just being real. I’ve seen it so many times with Channels I’ve followed from the start. When it goes from being a hobby to a job you can see the content being put out for revenue. I’ve been guilty myself. Don’t mean to offend and I’ll leave it there. I will still follow as I love what you do. Believe it or not I’m and old skool raving theatre lover! Cheers
@@Vertigotheatre1 might it have been the very important early theme of slavery? and how their profiteering deserved more critique within the narrative, especially given the narrative style which would allow for such a thing?
One of the worst plays I've seen. Y'all should listen to audio books because story telling can be very imaginative there. That's what they did, 3 ppl raking hundreds of thousands each show (props doesn't change) for just story telling....
