Review: THE LEHMAN TRILOGY at The Phoenix Theatre Company

For most Americans, the month of September triggers memories of the 2001 downing of the Twin Towers, a symbol of the nation’s economic power and prosperity. For the world of finance, a September day, ten years later in 2008, is a sobering reminder of the biggest corporate failure in history ~ the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, the fourth largest investment bank in the U.S. ~ and, in turn, the near collapse of the world’s financial system. A good deal of the blame has been laid at the feet of the company’s senior leadership and their colossal miscalculations about the stability of the subprime mortgage market. None of those in charge of the debacle were members of the founding family, but the Lehman name would be forever associated with corporate greed.

The question is whether the lust for money and personal enrichment that led to the disaster was built into the DNA of the company’s founders ~ three Jewish immigrant brothers from Rimpar, Bavaria ~ or is corporate avarice the inherent disease of capitalism (just as Gordon Gekko exclaimed in Wall Street: “Greed - for lack of a better word - is good. Greed is right. Greed works.”)

Stefano Massini’s Tony Award-winning drama, THE LEHMAN TRILOGY, takes a stab at this question and, in doing so, creates, not only a scintillating and witty family drama but also a potentially unsettling experience for the discerning audience.

Just as a stellar performance of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice may leave you with a twinge of discomfort over the stereotypical representation of Shylock, so too may Massini’s treatment of the Lehman brothers evoke a similar sensation. That unease ~ hard to shake ~ may be allayed by recognizing that Massini is Jewish and that his stated intention was not only to weave together two stories ~ one of a family and one of finance ~ but also to probe the seductive relationship between individuals and money. That goal would be worthy enough, but, in concentrating on the Jewishness of the brothers and their heirs, his work may reenforce the stereotype. Moreover, he leaves unattended the deeper consequences of this family’s endeavors ~ endeavors that were magnified by the other magnates of their generation. There is no language in the play that suggests hesitation or remorse for their complicity in the practice of slavery or the adverse impact of the monetization of everything at the expense of everyone less fortunate.

And yet, notwithstanding these concerns, the play has been billed rightfully as a masterpiece of construction and an innovative literary effort. It was initially written in the third person with no lines assigned to its characters. In its early productions in Europe, seven actors played not only the Lehman men but also the people they met over the span of the 164 years from their landing in New York to the crash. The 2022 staging of the play, adapted by Ben Power, an associate director at England’s National Theatre, directed by Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Road To Perdition, Skyfall), and featuring only three actors, won five Tony Awards, including Best Play.

Now, on the Mainstage at The Phoenix Theatre Company through February 11th, THE LEHMAN TRILOGY, directed by Rod Kaats, is, in every respect, a commanding and powerful theatrical experience, dominated by the stellar and captivating performances of Josh Clark (Henry Lehman), Michael Stewart Allen (Emanuel), and Michael Kary (Mayer).

Structured in three acts that spread over three hours and three generations TRILOGY chronicles the rise of the family from dry goods merchants in Alabama to big-time commodities traders, specializing in the cotton picked by plantation slaves, and ultimately to powerhouse investment bankers.

It ends with the demise of the company under different leadership, but not without the images of the three reverential brothers appropriately reciting the Kaddish.

That end-note of mourning is in marked contrast to Henry’s optimistic and prayerful greeting to the land of opportunity as he steps foot in Act One on American soil ~ “the son of a cattle merchant, a circumcised Jew, with only one piece of luggage.” From that celebratory introduction, Massini’s script ~ sometimes related in the third person, sometimes in the first ~ traces the mercurial rags to riches ascendance of the Lehmans.

Henry (“the Head”, the entrepreneur who is “always right”) is soon joined by the action-oriented Emanuel (“the Arm”) and Mayer (the more diplomatic sibling dubbed “the Potato”). Together, feet planted firmly in the Heart of Dixie, the three are off and running as the upstarts of the gilded age of capitalism.

TRILOGY then traces the transition from the idealism, principles and traditions that connected the brothers to their Jewish roots to the virtual abandonment of each by subsequent generations.

For example, when Henry dies, Emanuel and Mayer suspend business and sit shiva. When Emanuel dies fifty-two years later, the bank closes for three days. When Philip, Emanuel’s son dies in 1947, his tribute is incidental. The final straw in the brothers’ illustrious heritage falls to Robert, Emanuel’s grandson ~ a racehorse owner, art collector, and philanthropist ~ who was the last Lehman to head the firm. Director Kaats guides this transition so artfully that we may fail to appreciate how tragic is the family’s loss of grace and failure of character.  

Clark, Allen, and Kary are amazing in their versatility and range as they deftly transform themselves into their heirs and a variety of associated characters, each with distinctive accents and expressions, and all the while donned in Adriana Diaz’s immaculately tailored 19th Century suits.

Stephen Gifford’s modernistic and spare set design is constituted of wire sculptures and movable props and tables that morph into store counters or living room furniture. The set’s overall effect bespeaks the fragility and tenuousness of the glass house on which Lehman’s and America’s fortunes are built.

Together with Dallas Nichols’s background projections of historical skylines, places and moments, Keith Truax’s dramatic lighting (he bathes the set with an antiseptic glow that matches the color of money), and Ashton Michael Corey’s composition (striking a chord that is reminiscent of the emotion-laden pulsating theme of Succession, the epic tv series about family and wealth), the ingredients are in place to accentuate the shifting moods and emotions of the play.

The bottom line: THE LEHMAN TRILOGY is a must-see. It is compelling in its scope and depth as a story about an economic dynasty and the exercise of financial power in shaping the nation’s social and political landscape. The quality and impact of its production is heightened by the outstanding performances of its cast. It is, in the end, a distinctively and thought-provoking American morality tale.

THE LEHMAN TRILOGY runs through February 11th at The Phoenix Theatre Company's Mainstage Theatre.

The Phoenix Theatre Company ~ https://phoenixtheatre.com/ ~ 1825 N. Central Avenue, Phoenix ~ 602-254-2151

Photo credit to Brennen Russell, Blink Sessions Photography ~ L to R: Michael Kary, Josh Clark, Michael Stewart Allen

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