American Conservatory Theater to Close Out 23/24 Season with THE LEHMAN TRILOGY

American Conservatory Theater Will Close its 2023/24 season with The National Theatre and Neal Street Productions’ critically acclaimed, five-time Tony Award winning production, The Lehman Trilogy, performing at A.C.T.’s Toni Rembe Theater from Saturday, May 25 through Sunday, June 23, 2024.

Single tickets ($25 - $137) are on sale now by visiting act-sf.org/lehman.
 
"In the grand tapestry of human drama, The Lehman Trilogy unfurls as a magnificent saga,” said A.C.T. Artistic Director Pam MacKinnon. “It’s epic scope, gorgeous stagecraft, and riveting narrative illuminate the rise and fall of a family empire — and leaves us thinking about its legacy and where we go from here. It’s a theatrical experience that will leave San Francisco Bay Area audiences breathless.”
 
Written by Stefano Massini, adapted by Ben Power, and directed by Academy Award®, Tony Award®, and Golden Globe winner, Sam Mendes, with set design by Es Devlin, The Lehman Trilogy is an extraordinary feat of storytelling told in three parts on a single evening.

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. Weaving together nearly two centuries of family history, The Lehman Trilogy charts the humble beginnings, outrageous successes, and devastating failure of the financial institution that would ultimately bring the global economy to its knees.
 
The cast of The Lehman Trilogy includes Aaron Krohn who will play the role of Mayer Lehman, Howard W. Overshown, who will play the role of Emanuel Lehman, a role he played at the Ahmanson Theatre in 2022, and John Heffernan will join the company to perform the role of Henry Lehman. They will be joined by pianist, Rebekah Bruce. Ravi Aujla will play the role of Janitor and the understudy role of Emanuel Lehman. Performing the other understudy roles, are Leighton Pugh as Henry Lehman, Simon Victor as Mayer Lehman, and Anyssa Neumann as the alternate pianist. 

Rounding out the creative team for The Lehman Trilogy are Es Devlin (Set Design), Katrina Lindsay (Costume Design), Luke Halls (Video Design), Jon Clark (Lighting Design), Nick Powell (Composer and Sound Design), Dominic Bilkey (Co-Sound Design), Candida Caldicot (Music Director), Polly Bennett (Movement Director), and Rory McGregor (International Tour Director), in collaboration with West End Director, Zoé Ford Burnett.

This production of The Lehman Trilogy was first commissioned by Neal Street Productions and developed and co-produced with The National Theatre premiering in the Lyttelton theatre in 2018. An acclaimed sold-out run at the Park Avenue Armory in the Spring of 2019 followed with The Lehman Trilogy returning to London for a 16-week sold-out run at the Piccadilly Theatre in the West End from in summer 2019. Following Broadway's 18-month shutdown, The Lehman Trilogy was the first British play to return to Broadway — where it had previously played four performances in March 2020 — for a much-lauded limited engagement at the Nederlander Theatre from September 2021 until January 2022. It was the most awarded play on Broadway that year, winning Best Play, Best Director, Best Set Design, Best Lighting Design and Best Actor at the Tony Awards®.  It also won the Drama League Award for Best Play and six Outer Critics Circle Awards, including Best Play. The Lehman Trilogy transferred to the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles from March until April 2022, before returning to London’s West End in 2023 for a 17-week sold-out run. The Lehman Trilogy most recently played a limited engagement at Theatre Royal Sydney in Sydney, Australia.
 
Prior to this production, the world premiere of Stefano Massini’s The Lehman Trilogy opened at the Piccolo Teatro in Milan in 2015. It turned out to be Artistic Director Luca Ronconi’s final production before his death. A long-term admirer of Ronconi’s, Sam Mendes was inspired to begin planning an English adaptation for Neal Street Productions. Ben Power was commissioned by Neal Street Productions to create a new version of this epic play, using a literal English translation by Mirella Cheeseman. 
 
The National Theatre and Neal Street Productions would like to dedicate this production of The Lehman Trilogy in memory of company member, Adrian Schiller.
 
In connection with The Lehman Trilogy, A.C.T. will offer numerous InterACT events—many of which are presented free of charge—that will give patrons opportunities to get closer to the action while having an entire night out at the theater. Visit act-sf.org/interact to learn more about subscribing to these events throughout the season:

· Drinks & Drama :

Saturday, May 25, 6:30 p.m.
Join us for a party before the show with a local DJ, drink specials, and more!

· Audience Exchanges:
Tuesday, June 4, 7 p.m. | Sunday, June 9, 2 p.m. | Wednesday, June 19, 2 p.m.
After the show, stick around for a lively Q&A session with the actors and artists who create the work onstage.

· Pride Night:

Wednesday, June 5, before and following the 7:30 p.m. performance
A revamped pre- and postshow party celebrating LGBTQ+ pride within the theater community.

· Open Captioned Performance:

Saturday, June 8, 1 p.m. performance

At this performance, the dialogue will be displayed on a screen at the front of the stage on house left. To purchase seats in the best viewing section, please use code CAPTION when ordering.

· Tasting Night:

Tuesday, June 11, 6:30 p.m.
Meet fellow theatergoers and get to know one of our local vendors at this hosted event before the show.

· PlayTime:

Saturday, June 15, 12:45 p.m.
Before this matinee performance, get hands-on with the artists who make it happen at this interactive theater workshop.
 

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