FST traces rich history of Lehman Brothers and nation in regional premiere

In 1844, a 23-year-old named Hayum Lehman arrived in the United States from Bavaria, changed his name to Henry and began an unexpected odyssey with his brothers and extended family leading to unimagined financial success.

Shortly after the Lehman Brothers firm collapsed in 2008, Italian writer Stefano Massini began piecing together the rich history of the family’s fortunes, which he turned into the acclaimed play “The Lehman Trilogy.” Adapted into English by Ben Power, the play became a sensation in London and later New York, winning five 2022 Tony Awards, including Best Play.

“It’s just a great big story, actually many stories rolled into one,” said Richard Hopkins, the producing artistic director of Florida Studio Theatre, who is staging the play’s regional premiere.

“First and foremost, it is the story of the Lehman brothers that turned into the Lehman family” from 1844 to 2008. “It’s a great picture of that family tree.”

But the play also delves into the “evolution of people who emigrate to America and all the good things and life things that happen to them when they are here,” Hopkins said. “And at the same time, it’s an extraordinary piece of American history seen through the eyes of that family, from the time the first Lehman brother, Henry, arrives on Ellis Island with very little.”

And it is all told with just three actors playing the brothers and about 90 characters overall.

Henry Lehman (played by Howard Kaye), arrived in 1844 and made his way to Montgomery, Alabama, where he eventually opened a hat shop and clothing store that became a dry goods specialty shop.

“They grew from there and became very successful in cotton as brokers. They were the first middlemen, buying from one to sell to another. They invented that,” Hopkins said.

Henry was followed by the middle brother, Emanuel (played by Beethovan Oden) in 1847 and then the youngest brother, Mayer (played by Rod Brogan) in 1850. They had to save money to bring the next brother overseas.

Their work as middlemen in the cotton trade provides “a great view of capitalism. You see that capitalism is really a tool, and it’s how you use it,” Hopkins said. “If you use it improperly bad things can happen. If you use it properly great things can happen. And in the end, Lehman Brothers outran themselves, got into cheap shots.”

By the time of the collapse, the family had not been involved in the financial services business for more than a decade.

“It’s this real American story, told from a very human point of view, small things happen to the family and the family tree grows and three actors play all the roles. Some of it is direct address to the audience."

Oden makes his FST debut with the production, while Kay appeared in the 2014 production of “Tom Jones.” Brogan was featured in “American Son” in 2020 and last season’s production of “Network.”

Using just three actors keeps the founding members of the family always in mind, even after they are long gone. “They continue telling the story, telling the family history from their point of view,” Hopkins said. “That’s big and important and you stay rooted in the original inspiration of why they wanted to be here, why they wanted to come to America from Bavaria, because you can do business here. You can be successful here.”

It also adds to the theatricality of the production. “They are storytellers and become characters in the play, all without costume changes. It’s just sheer brute force of acting. It’s a grand story and grand story theater taken to the adult level.”

While there is an epic nature to the sweep of the story, Hopkins said the important thing is to tell it simply.

“You take audiences places they have never been before, You can see the event and comment on the event, give the back story of what was happening, what the love life of this person was while this event is happening,” he said. “You see a brother courting a woman, at the same time, that helps the business. It was the right woman who had connections. They married well at a time when marriages were business deals.”

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The play is told in three acts and runs slightly more than three hours, so performances at FST are starting earlier than usual. Evening performances are at 7 p.m. and matinees start at 1 p.m. so audiences leave the theater at a more usual time.

“The play is so filled with event and action, it doesn’t feel like three hours,” he said. “You want to see what happens next. In Montgomery, Alabama, the audience knows a civil war is coming. It’s the irony of doing a history play and the audience knows what’s going to happen.”

Hopkins is working with Kate Alexander, the theater’s associate director at-large, as associate director. Isabel and Moriah Curley-Clay are designing the set. Liz Bourgeois is the costume designer and lighting is by Ben Rawson.

‘The Lehman Trilogy’

By Steffano Massini, adapted by Ben Power. Directed by Richard Hopkins. Runs Jan. 31-March 24. Gompertz Theatre, Florida Studio Theatre, 1265 First St., Sarasota. $39-$59. 941-366-9000; floridastudiotheatre.org

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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Florida Studio Theatre stages historic tale of ‘The Lehman Trilogy’