A Review of Warehouse Theatre’s
The Lehman Trilogy
By Dennis Tavernetti, editor of Greenville Arts Today
Warehouse Theatre’s The Lehman Trilogy, a play by Stefano Massi, astounded and delighted the full house audience Friday night from start to finish, three hours later.
They were greeted, as they entered the highly flexible theatre’s performing space, by a four-sided rectangular set: which was in the center, with two separate audiences facing each other across the freshly sawn pine planked raised floored set. Perhaps it was with intent that the sweet smell of the new pine announced the arrival of the three brothers in their new land.
The ends of the set served as “bookends” rising to the ceiling with racks for stacked file boxes, which were the essential props of the evening, along with three large tables and a stool. The tables and boxes were fluid throughout the evening and the essential props with their contents, providing objects of motion and action throughout the performance.
Perhaps, many in the audience, upon taking their seats prior to its start, viewing the starkness of the set, with its massive raised freshly hewn plank bare floor and cast of a mere three, wondered how a play could run for three hours in such a humble setting, and three actors. After all, operas with a cast of more than 50 and elephants can last 3 hours; but 3 actors on a simple stage, some tables with cardboard boxes?
However, it soon became apparent after the three actors appeared on the simple set with the opposing audience layout, that these elements were not the only remarkable things they were going to be treated to that evening.
These three amazing actors portrayed not only one of the three brothers at all the varying stages of their lives, but also cotton planters, future wives, their children, stockbrokers, commodity traders and more.
The single most important aspect of this play to be successful is the interaction between the brothers as they build, change, build again their lives and business from start to ultimate finish. Their rapid-fire dialogue bouncing from one to another was nothing short of “totally amazing”, in content and delivery.
The cast consisted of Henry Lehman played by Thomas Azar, Emanuel Lehman played by Christopher Joel Onken and Mayer Lehman played by Matt Reece.
The script is made up of fast paced “over the top” dialogue with rapid interchanges between the three main characters, as well as simultaneously a host of others they play.
Their delivery of a mammoth amount of dialogue representing far more than 3 characters is accomplished by the three actors without leaving the stage to alter make up or costume and is delivered in a rapid-fire dialogue as the actor changes only by altering his mannerisms, facial expressions and voice to create a different character.
These three actors accomplished all this flawlessly due to their incredible talent and ability to work together as a whole. Not once was the audience uncertain who the character was that was speaking, even as short lines were rapidly exchanged between multiple characters amongst the 3 actors.
This play as performed also made great use of “stage business”; with the walking on a high wire tight rope and the use of all the moving of tables and boxes; which served different purposes from the start to dramatic finish of the play.
It was an amazing evening, and what the Warehouse Theatre accomplished with this play, was only possible with their extraordinary talented: creative producer, director, actors, set designer, lighting and a host of others, who are all very talented risk takers; delivering true theater to the resultant delight of Warehouse Theatre audiences.
Note: This production has now closed, finishing its planned run as well as an unplanned extra week of “holdover”.
Next up: Trouble in Mind, by South Carolina playwright Alice Childress, who tells the story of a black actress struggling with her dream of acting on Broadway, while facing the heartbreaking reality of racism, identity, ego, and self-worth in the high-stakes world of NYC theatre. Mar24-Apr 14, 2024. For more information: www.warehousetheatre.com