The Lehman Trilogy

The Lehman Trilogy is a three-act play by Italian novelist and playwright Stefano Massini. It follows the lives of three immigrant brothers from when they arrived in America and founded an investment firm through the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008. It has been translated into 24 languages, staged by such directors as Luca Ronconi and Sam Mendes, and was later published as a novel in English. An English translation of the play by Mirella Cheeseman was produced at the National Theatre in 2018. The production, featuring three actors and one pianist, was directed by Sam Mendes and included the cast of Simon Russell Beale, Adam Godley and Ben Miles. It earned five Laurence Olivier Award nominations.

The production made its Broadway transfer in March 2020 and performed briefly before the COVID-19 pandemic. The play resumed performances in fall 2021 with Adrian Lester replacing Ben Miles. The production received universal critical acclaim and eight Tony Award nominations, winning five awards including for Best Play, Best Direction of a Play for Sam Mendes, and Best Actor in a Play for Simon Russell Beale.

The play has been criticized both for playing down the role of the Lehman family in slavery and for the crude, caricatured way in which it portrays the Jewishness of the protagonists. (Which it doesn’t. The “Jewishness” of the piece represents connection, community & humanity over against the capitalism, greed & ambition that money can cause & foster and that Wall Street caused)