Review: THE LEHMAN TRILOGY at Pioneer Theatre Company is Living History

Pioneer Theatre Company’s Utah premiere of the lauded THE LEHMAN TRILOGY is the inaugural production in the brand-new Meldrum Theatre at the Einar Nielsen Fieldhouse. The intimate but open space is designed with a large thrust stage that extends into the 387-seat audience, and the building conveniently shares a parking lot with Pioneer Memorial Theatre. It’s a venue that will serve Utah’s theatre community well for years to come. 

THE LEHMAN TRILOGY by Stefano Massini, adapted by Ben Power, received eight Tony Award nominations and five wins in 2022, including Best Play. Both poetic and practical, it opens with the three Lehman brothers, who immigrated to Alabama from Bavaria in the mid-19th century and founded Lehman Brothers, which progressed from selling fabrics to raw cotton to becoming a major New York financial institution run by their descendants and later unrelated board members until it infamously filed for bankruptcy in 2008.

The three-part play is a history book that’s come alive, narrated by the three actors, who also each take on various roles throughout the narrative that spans two centuries. 

Their initial roles include Jeff Talbott as Henry Lehman, William Connell as Emanuel Lehman, and Seth Andrew Bridges as Mayer Lehman.  All three give performances that are dynamic, deep, and engaging across their dozens of characters and the three-hour-plus run time of the piece. 

The timeless scenic and costume design by Yoon Bae are specific enough that they feel rooted in the various decades but abstract enough that they work visually and dramatically even as time passes and circumstances evolve.

The lighting design by Michael Gilliam illuminates the different eras and personalities with precision and warmth.

Original music for this production was composed by Will Van Dyke, Music Supervisor/Orchestrator/Arranger of LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS and PRETTY WOMAN worldwide.  The intriguing melodies, along with director Karen Azenberg’s attentive staging, guide the audience firmly through the progression of Lehman Brothers’ successes and failures. 

THE LEHMAN TRILOGY plays through April 13, 2024. For tickets, call the box office at 801-581-6961 or visit www.pioneertheatre.org.

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