a night at the theater

Last night we went to see the Lehman Trilogy. this was the second time we had seen this spectacular examination of the American Dream and Greed & Avarice in the US.  We first saw it pre-COVID when it was released on NT LIve. Still - even upon second viewing - a tour de force!

I liked the staging of the NT Live production much more but the play is driven by it's story and it is well scripted to be dramatic regardless of the lesser staging- 

From the NT Live website- photos and concise summary- 

(The play follows) the Lehman Brothers, their sons and grandsons in an extraordinary feat of storytelling told in three parts on a single evening.

Hailed by the New York Times as a ‘genuinely epic production’, The Lehman Trilogy is the story of a family and a company that changed the world.

Written by Stefano Massini, adapted by Ben Power and directed by Academy Award®, Tony Award® and Golden Globe winner Sam Mendes (The Ferryman), with Tony Award®-winning set design by Es Devlin (The Crucible).

On a cold September morning in 1844, a young man from Bavaria stands on a New York Dockside dreaming of a new life in the new world. He is 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.

An absolutely astounding story of America and its history of wealth building on the backs of slave labor and the  never ending greed of Wall street, investment banks and the moneyed class.  Written by a clear eyed Italian this one hits fair and square on the foundations of  "the greatest nation in the world" 

Do not miss this - it is the reason theater exists-