Los Angeles Times - Recommended
"...Beale, Godley and Overshown are dressed throughout in mourning suits, which is appropriate for a play that says a kaddish for American capitalism. "The Lehman Trilogy" is at once overlong and incomplete, but the theatrical picture is so deftly drawn that it leaves a haunting image of a nation grieving its own myth."
Broadway World - Highly Recommended
"...Moving, intelligent, and bitterly funny, The Lehman Trilogy is a force of theatre: visceral, literate, and provocative. Not since The Godfather films has an epic encapsulated everything that makes America great...and toxic."
Edge - Highly Recommended
"...It's weird to say that a play about a financial crisis is a blast, but it is. Not only is it an interesting piece of history, but it explores dreams, ingenuity, greed, and loss with honesty and careful reflection. Don't let the subject matter or running time give you pause. This is one of the best plays to come around in a while. Inventive, clever, and timely, it's one you won't soon forget."
Stage and Cinema - Highly Recommended
"...Power's adaptation of Massini's script is wondrous. Not only does it manage to cram more than a century-and-a-half of material into 3 hours and 20 minutes (the 2013 French premiere was a full 5 hours), it does so in a way that doesn't feel bogged-down or incomprehensible. Instead of utilizing full-length dialogue in typical play fashion, it opts instead for a third-person narrative with minimal banter. The actors embody character descriptions and plot twists as if they're reciting a Dickensian novel. It's a bold choice, for sure. But in a way, it's the only choice there is: this is a tale of brothers - of America; sit down, it seems to say; let us tell you a story."
LA Splash - Highly Recommended
"...Kudos to director Sam Mendes, who helms the production with a sure hand. The action is divided into three acts with two intermissions; happily, time really does fly when the audience is being grandly entertained. The production crew also deserves congratulations for creating a fascinating setting - elements like Es Devlin's large glass square resembling an office which rotates as the story inches forward. Behind the glass enclosure is video designer Luke Halls' world as it appears during each epoch - from the Statue of Liberty to burning plantations to the skyscrapers of NYC. John Clark's lighting, Nick Powell's sound, and composer Candida Caldicot's piano melodies add multiple dimensions to the deceptively simple staging. While the topic may sound dry, this is a show for everyone."
Total Theater - Highly Recommended
"...The genesis of the play is equally complex. First written as a book by the Italian novelist Stefano Massini, it was adapted by Ben Power for Britain's National Theatre, where it went from the West End to Broadway, winning all kinds of prizes along the way. Now it arrives in a road company at the Ahmanson, where it once again is being greeted with huzzahs by appreciative audiences."
Entertainment Weekly - Recommended
"...But whether or not it works is probably an entirely personal experience. The takeaway is unclear - are we supposed to empathize? Judge? Be shocked? All of the above? It's an immigrant story, and a muddy one at that. One that examines the ways in which hustle and hard work can insidiously morph into greed and rot so slowly one barely notices. But if it's difficult to care about the Lehman Brothers legacy of avarice going in, and even coming out with a greater sense of the scope of their history, the play does little to change that."
Peoples World - Highly Recommended
"...One doesn't have to admire these people, except for the sheer brilliance of their heartless audacity, to recognize The Lehman Trilogy as one of the most significant plays of our time-and maybe for all time. It would be a real shame to miss this moment of theatrical magic. Inevitably there will be a film-or a mini-series-but it won't be the same."
Indulge Magazine - Recommended
"...The play relies extensively on third-person narration, a kind of movie script reading, but manages never to feel heavy-handed or cumbersomely expository, thanks mainly to Mendes's direction and the skillful actors who are able to convincingly mold themselves into myriad characters without skipping a beat - a masterclass in theater acting. Scenic design by Es Devlin is sparse yet effective, a gigantic, spinning glass box with changing projected backdrops. The music score by Nick Powell, irrefutably a character, is a moody piano reminiscent of Mendes's film score collaborator, Thomas Newman."
