No more results on this page
THE LEHMAN TRILOGY, winner of the 2022 Tony Award for Best Play, weaves together nearly two centuries of family history in an epic theatrical event charting the humble beginnings, outrageous successes, and devastating failure of the financial institution that would ultimately bring the global economy to its knees. Told in three parts over one evening, THE LEHMAN TRILOGY is the quintessential story of western capitalism, rendered through the lens of a single immigrant family. On a cold September morning in 1844, a young Jewish man from Bavaria stands on a New York dockside dreaming of a new life in the new world. He is soon joined by his two brothers, and an American epic begins. 163 years later, the firm they establish--Lehman Brothers--spectacularly collapses into bankruptcy, triggering the largest financial crisis in history.
TimeLine Theatre's production of THE LEHMAN TRILOGY is its Chicago premiere. The Broadway production of THE LEHMAN TRILOGY was met with extraordinary international acclaim. The Guardian proclaimed it "a kaleidoscopic social and political metaphor" and "an intimate epic about the shifting definition of the American Dream." The Chicago Tribune praised it as "a masterwork" and The New York Times as "a vivid tale of profit and pain." Vanity Fair raved that it is "true blockbuster theatre that will hold you captive until the final curtain call," with Time Out New York saying "it leaves you dazzled." And The Wall Street Journal declared that THE LEHMAN TRILOGY "surpasses all praise."
In the first act, the business acumen and success of the three original Lehman brothers was explored. As the middlemen between the cotton plantations and the garment industry, the Lehmans' role in the horrors of Montgomery's slave trade and market was never addressed. The zeitgeist of the depiction felt more like the 1950s than the 2020s.
We walked out after the first act. It was supposed to depict the immigrant experience, but it really didn't. It was supposed to have some comedic components but it didn't. I don't think we ever had such a disappointing evening at the theater.
One of the best plays I have seen in many years.. outstanding
We enjoyed the play, a good history of an immigrant experience. Although it is long, it moves very quickly and the set was excellent. Highly recommend.
Spellbinding, informative, wonderful performances by the three actors and not a moment of down-time. A bit of levity, great historical context and creativity. Love the way it was done. Suggestion for the theater: while every seat at Water Tower Place is excellent, those slightly to the side, front rows at breakpoint (Row G) look directly at the EXIT sign. A side barrier on the signs would really help. For $250 a ticket, I expect better.
Amazing storytelling of the Lehman Family across many generations. Beautifully set, yet simple…easy to follow the storyline. The three actors did a superb job of bringing these characters to a life that we really cared about….well done! Highly recommended.
Excellent seats no matter where you sit. Outstanding acting and a well-written narrative illuminating the incredible rise of the Lehman clan. First two acts were magnificent, the last one seemed intent on tying up some loose ends while hurrying through to the present. It lacked the depth and personal impact of the first 75 years of the family's rise. Still, a terrific study of what an inspired immigrant can (could) do during the free-wheeling rise of our experiment in capitalism and democracy,
Unique, creative and interesting. Highly recommend it. Really admired the acting and was very curious about the setting. Hopefully one of the Tonys went to the set designers!
The 3 actors who played all parts were wonderful. The play could use some editing. It was a bit long. The historical ingenuity of the Lehman Brothers was well worth wading through a bit of lengthy intervals.
As always, Timeline delivered a brilliant production and THE LEHMAN TRILOGY was just that brilliant! It was captivating story-telling and the hours flew by as we all waited for the next chapter. Each of the actors was amazing weaving the story and portraying multiple characters fluidly. Love Timeline and Bravo to Michael Fain, Joey Slotnick and we saw the understudy for Anish who was awesome as well.
Well-written story told by three talented actors. Loved it!
Perhaps a bit long, and it would have been great to have at least one woman in the play. Otherwise, it was a very compelling story about the Lehman family and America.
Never thought a three-hour play could keep me totally engrossed the whole time, but the creativity of the play and the performance of the actors were mesmerizing start to finish.
had no idea how interesting the history was, of the Lehman Brothers. I only knew them as an investment firm. The set is unusual and very interesting. The three actors play so many parts, in interesting ways, with no costume changes! But they do make the characters distinct and interesting. It’s a bit long… I wish they could figure out how to do it without two intermissions.!!!!
I hesitate to leave a somewhat negative review of a show that won best new drama last year and about which most people have raving. Perhaps my expectations were just too different. I expected a drama with characters--that is, a more typical experience of narrative played out in the interaction of the characters. This was mostly three guys yakking (while, yes, occasionally playing roles). It was like a piece that was successful in a writers theater workshop (with characters reading the script while sitting in chairs) that then was moved directly to the stage with a bit of costuming and staging. So I would have told the author, "This is great. Now turn it into a play."
A three-hour show about the origin and growth of Lehman Bank you would think would have time to say a lot about its infamous demise as well, but that's brushed over in a sentence. The audience is fooled into thinking this is an accurate biographical account but turns out much is unnecessarily fictionalized for dramatic effect. I didn't care for the third person point of view; it is as if they are just telling a story rather than showing it. Although the set is creative it's boring that there are no real set changes nor costume changes throughout the story. We also had the misfortune of an understudy that had quite a bit of trouble with the script.
I loved this show but 3 hours 10 minutes is outrageous. It could have been edited.
Lehman Trilogy was superb. Writing was tight, humorous, erudite. Acting was great, exceptional. Staging was, likewise, interesting. I/we had some concerns about sitting through 3+ hours of theatre; no problem there. Pace of the production was well-executed and kept the audience's attention during the entire performance. Kudos to the entire ensemble. 👏 Bravo.
We thoroughly enjoyed The Lehman Trilogy. The story was great, and very well-written. The individual performances of the three characters were incredible. This was a long play, and the amount of dialogue, and choreography required of the characters was considerable. My wife and I walked away very very impressed.
A fascinating story of a great complexity told through a well-acted ensemble of only three actors. A must see!
