FST to present regional premiere of ‘The Lehman Trilogy’

Performances begin on Jan. 31

Image from the Florida Studio Theatre website.

Starting Jan. 31, Florida Studio Theatre (FST) in downtown Sarasota will present the regional premiere of The Lehman Trilogy, written by Stefano Massini and translated into English by Ben Power, the theatre has announced.

The play tells the story of the Lehman brothers’ “pursuit of the American Dream,” a news release explains. Covering a period of 163 years, “it chronicles the rise and fall of three generations of the family through the eyes of the original three brothers. We see their accomplishments, their failures, and the costs of their dreams and successes,” the release notes. “The story is told in three parts over the course of a single evening,” with three actors playing multiple roles.

Tickets, which are $25 to $39, are on sale at FloridaStudioTheatre.org or by calling 941-366-9000.

“There’s a lot of things going on in it,” director Richard Hopkins says of the play. “It covers a huge swath of American history. It’s a simply

executed and brilliantly written play that has more than the sum of its parts,” Hopkins added.

“In the course of the play’s three-hour run time,” he continued, “you see everything that is great about capitalism and everything that’s not great about capitalism, because they do all of it. And you also get to follow a family from the day of the first one stepping foot on American soil and becoming part of the fabric of America.”

Translator Power collaborated with award-winning stage and screen director Sam Mendes to develop the play for English language audiences,” the release points out. Since the play made its English language debut at London’s National Theatre in 2018, the release adds, it has since been staged on Broadway and at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles. The Guardian called it “Astonishing,” “Impeccable,” and “Epic,” and Time Out Magazine called it “riveting,” and “utterly engrossing.” The play has won multiple awards, including the Tony for Best Play, the release says.

“The talented cast of The Lehman Trilogy features Rod Brogan (Mayer Lehman), Howard Kaye (Henry Lehman), and Beethoven Oden (Emanuel Lehman),” the release continues. “They not only play the three brothers, but also tackle multiple members of the Lehman family.”

The release notes that tickets are on sale, as well, for Troubadour, the story of a son trying to carry on the country music legacy of his father. Troubadour is the final production of the Winter Mainstage series. Tickets for that play, which also are $25 to $39, are on sale at FloridaStudioTheatre.org or by calling 941-366-9000., the release adds. Troubadour will start on April 3 in the Gompertz Theatre.