Official: THE LEHMAN TRILOGY to play the Nederlander this Spring

[JBroadway]

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Original-Cast-Set-to-Return-for-THE-LEHMAN-Trilogy-on-Broadway-This-Spring-20190903

This show wasn't to my personal taste, but I do think it's an interesting piece of theatre and I'm glad more people will get to see it. 

[VotePeron]

Woohoo! So exciting to have such high-caliber work continue to appear on Broadway, continuously raising the bar. This is one of the few shows I've seen where I genuinely have no idea how these actors perform 8x/week in this mammoth, exhausting show. Props to them. 

If you're a fan of theatre, don't miss this.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Mr. Saturday Simon?

[CT2NYC]

So glad I got to see this at the Armory, where the ultra-wide staging was able to make spectacular use of the projections. From the pics I've seen of the current production in London, the transition to a standard proscenium theatre makes it look cramped, to say the least.

 

[Wick3]

I agree with you CT2NYC. I saw it both at the National Theatre and at the Park Ave Armory and I felt the projections more at the Armory. So glad I got to see it there! I'll admit I was hoping it would go to the Vivian Beaumont but I'm glad the original cast is coming to Broadway intact!

[Mike Barrett]

So excited for this one! 

[CT2NYC]

Wick3 said: "I agree with you CT2NYC. I saw it both at the National Theatre and at the Park Ave Armory and I felt the projections more at the Armory. So glad I got to see it there! I'll admit I was hoping it would go to the Vivian Beaumont but I'm glad the original cast is coming to Broadway intact!"

This is how it looks at the Piccadilly Theatre:

[Jonwo]

I saw it at the Piccadilly and it didn't feel cramped at all, I imagine they'll use the Piccadilly set for the Broadway run.

[Mike Barrett]

Obviously, I don't know specifics, but having been to the Nederlander and seeing this pic of the Picaddily, I feel as if the Nederlander is a bit wider anyways. I don't think it should be too much of an issue. 

[JBroadway]

When I looked a that photo, I immediately thought that it looks very cramped, but that's probably because the Armory staging is so fixed in my head. When you think about it, the show really doesn't NEED all of that vast, empty space. 

And as Mike Barrett pointed out, the Nederlander stage is probably larger and wider (in fact, I've found that most of the older West End theatres tend to be on the narrow side compared to Broadway theatres. 

[SouthernCakes]

Def looks less interesting without the big visual impact. And the fact that it’s narration heavy.

[little_sally]

So happy. I adore Ben Miles and was bummed to miss this at the Armory. 

[Impossible2]

I too saw it at the Piccadilly and it didn't look cramped at all.

The screens usage was mind-blowing at times x

[CT2NYC]

To anyone who didn't see it at the Armory, I'm sure it doesn't looked cramped at the Piccadilly. My point was that, by comparison, it looks cramped. At the Armory, part of what made the projections so effective was how they reflected on the expansive stage floor, which is a brilliant effect I can imagine is significantly diminished in a smaller space.



 

[Jarethan]

I saw this on NT Live and liked it a lot, although I felt that Act 2 was not as good as Act 1, and that  Act 3 was not as good as Act 2, i.e., it was on a slow downward slope after a brilliant Act 1.  With The Audience and One Man, Two Governors, having seen them first on NT Live, I wanted to see them really live when they came to NYC.  I don't feel a strong need to see this one live.  It may be because of the story telling nature of this play.  In any event, right now I am assuming there are other shows I will want to see during my annual spring trip.

[JBroadway]

So, this will almost certainly be considered a new play for the Tony Awards, and that is probably the correct decision.

BUT, just because I'm in the mood to be nerdy and pedantic, I'd like to point out that the play premiered back in 2013, and had a few productions that were completely unaffiliated with the National Theatre's production. According to Wikipedia, it premiered in France in 2013, which was followed by an Italian production in 2015. It wasn't until fall of 2018 that the National took the existing play, had it translated into English, and re-conceived it into its current form. SO, given that the play had already been produced independently for several years before this production came into being, one could make a case that TECHNICALLY, the National Theatre's production was a revival of Massini's play, and by extension, this Broadway production would be a revival. 

But I understand that all this happened in a relatively short span of time, which was probably not long enough to consider something a revival under the "classics" rule. I just think it's kind of an interesting alternate take on the situation. 

Anyway, move along! 

 

[imeldasturn]

Yasmina Reza's Art opened in France in 1994 and was staged in several European countries before opening on Broadway in 1998, and yet it won Best Play. There's no way Lehman Trilogy will be considered a revival.

[JBroadway]

imeldasturn said: "Yasmina Reza's Art opened in France in 1994 and on Broadway in 1998, and yet it won Best Play. There's no way Lehman Trilogy will be considered a revival."

 

And I fully acknowledge that. I know precedent is against it, and it won't happen. But as I said, sometimes I just feel like being overly pedantic about these sorts of things because it's a fun exercise in examining how we classify productions. For example: you could maybe have made the same case about Yasmina Reza's 'art' (depending on if there was any association between the original French premiere and Matthew Warchus' first production)! 

[ardiem]

I'm excited about this! I saw it at the Armory (in the second to last row) and in the middle of the orchestra at the Piccadilly theater. I agree that the wide stage and reflectivity at the Armory add a bit of gravitas to the whole thing, but IMO the reason to see it are the phenomenal performances, and a less expansive venue won't detract from that.

[keen on kean]

I missed this at the Armory and can't seem to make the NT broadcasts at the Symphony Space, so this is good news for this Ben Miles fan.

To those who have seen it - any need to do any background reading to appreciate this play?

[liger420]

I'm terrified to see the ticket prices when they go on sale in ten days.

[Mike Barrett]

^ Same.



Also looking at the Picadily and the Nederlander, I think they’re stage size is relatively similiar. While the Nederlander theatre itself is much wider, I’m not sure the stage is really all that much bigger frankly. I haven’t seen this show before so I’m not particularly worried, but if you look you can kinda see they aren’t awfully different.

[qolbinau]

Lehman Trilogy, Company, The Inheritance, Caroline, or Change, Tina, Six. Has there ever been so many London transfers in one season?

[PianoMann]

I missed this at the Armory, so I'm thrilled about the transfer! I can't imagine the ticket prices will be exorbitant, or at least not nearly as insane as they eventually became at the Armory given the incredibly limited run. I know the reviews and frenzy at the Armory will lead to excitement about the Broadway mounting, but does anyone think this might be a tough sell to the broader public?

[Mike Barrett]

qolbinau said: "Lehman Trilogy, Company, The Inheritance, Caroline, or Change, Tina, Six. Has there ever been so many London transfers in one season?"

Don’t forget A Girl From The North Country!