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A stunningly staged ‘Lehman Trilogy’ critiques and romanticizes American capitalism

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The chapter of Lehman Brothers in 2008 was a watershed second in what was ultimately dubbed the Nice Recession. The monetary companies big, as soon as presumed to be too massive to fail, turned an emblem — no, an object lesson — of Wall Avenue’s wanton recklessness.

Few following the apocalyptic headlines on the time would have been aware of the agency’s origins as a dry-goods retailer within the antebellum South. Henry Lehman, a Jewish immigrant from Bavaria, arrived in the USA in 1844 and based a small retail enterprise in Montgomery, Ala. His brothers, Emanuel and Mayer, quickly adopted, and collectively they proved remarkably adept at responding to market wants and benefiting from different folks’s catastrophes.

How a store that offered fits and materials grew right into a mighty funding financial institution (the fourth largest within the nation on the time of its demise) is the topic of “The Lehman Trilogy,” a three-act epic tailored by Ben Energy from Italian playwright Stefano Massini’s hit European drama. This English-language model, which had its premiere at London’s Nationwide Theatre in 2018, arrives on the Ahmanson Theatre contemporary from its heralded Broadway run.

The main focus of the play, which opened Sunday in a Sam Mendes-directed manufacturing of lyrical splendor, isn’t the subprime mortgage disaster. The phrases “credit score default swap” are blessedly unstated. However “The Lehman Trilogy” traces the perversion of an financial logic that went from producing astonishing household wealth to almost capsizing the worldwide financial system.

What’s most notable in regards to the mise-en-scène is the right integration of the actors, whose performances are by no means eclipsed by the theatrical swirl.

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(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Occasions)

The subject material could sound dry to those that robotically discard the enterprise part of a newspaper, however the play’s ambition is hovering. “The Lehman Trilogy” joins Lucy Prebble’s “Enron” and Ayad Akhtar’s “Junk” in kinetically dramatizing how American capitalism misplaced its method.

But it’s not a lot the excellence of the story because the superlative nature of the theatrical telling that units this manufacturing aside. “The Lehman Trilogy” is constructed as a dramatic elegy, an oral historical past delivered as if it had been written by a descendant of Homer. Mendes, an Oscar- and Tony-winning director (“American Magnificence, “The Ferryman”), responds to the play’s presentational type with one of many best stagings of his distinguished profession.

Phrases are intoned over a rating credited to sound designer Nick Powell and carried out by a pianist (Rebekah Bruce at Sunday’s efficiency) on the foot of the stage. The ingenious set by Es Devlin, a rotating glass dice revealing the Lehman Brothers New York workplace on the eve of the corporate’s collapse, serves as a metaphor for “the magical music field of America,” whose siren music lured immigrants to pursue a dream of boundless alternative.

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The modernity of the scenic design isn’t any impediment for a play that’s almost out of time earlier than it emerges from the Nice Despair. The video design by Luke Halls creates a poetic cyclorama of sea and skyline that conjures historical past in black-and-white imagery and infrequently summons the nightmares of its characters in gory colour.

I’m unsure that I’ve ever seen a manufacturing as well-fitted to the Ahmanson stage as this one. What’s most notable in regards to the mise-en-scène is the right integration of the actors, whose performances are by no means eclipsed by the theatrical swirl. It’s via their artwork that this chronicle spanning greater than 160 years succeeds regardless of its repetitiveness, unbalanced plotting and final-act blurriness.

Adam Godley, Simon Russell Beale and Howard W. Overshown.

The chapter of Lehman Brothers in 2008 was a watershed second in what was ultimately dubbed the Nice Recession.

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Occasions)

Two of the three solid members, Simon Russell Beale, a Shakespearean virtuoso with a five-octave vary of irony, and Adam Godley, a performer with clown-like plasticity, have been with “The Lehman Trilogy” since London. Howard W. Overshown, holding his personal with crisp authority, has joined the solid for this Los Angeles outing, changing Broadway solid member Adrian Lester, who stepped into the half vacated by Ben Miles, a key member of the unique ensemble.

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“Mesmerizing” is a cliché of theater reviewing, however Beale, Godley and Overshown wield a robust incantatory spell. The almost 3½-hour operating time (which incorporates two intermissions) is a take a look at of endurance. However damaged up as it’s into roughly hourlong episodes, the manufacturing by no means feels plodding. Credit score the actors, who make even the play’s tough patches pulse with theatrical life.

Beale launches the dramatic journey as Henry Lehman, the eldest and brainiest of the three brothers, simply as he’s getting off the boat in New York. Overshown subsequently seems as Emanuel, nicknamed “the arm” for his scorching mood and basic toughness. Final however not least, Godley enters as Mayer, affectionately known as “the potato” however depended upon by his bickering siblings as their levelheaded mediator.

The primary act, essentially the most gripping of the three, recounts the rise of the household enterprise, which morphed from promoting garments and cloth to poor native employees to supplying all that was wanted to provide the world’s cotton. After a fireplace worn out the city’s plantations, the Lehmans assumed the place of lenders. By the point the Civil Conflict broke out, they had been well-established middlemen, shopping for uncooked cotton and transport it up north for a revenue. A New York workplace naturally turned the middle of an operation that after the Civil Conflict moved on to extra profitable commodities.

Henry is the primary to die, however Beale is just getting began. Along with his narrating duties, he takes on different elements when wanted, together with a plantation proprietor (with a good-ol’-boy Southern accent) and a headstrong divorcée who ensnares a Lehman scion. However his most vital function after Henry is Philip, son of Emanuel, who’s a prodigy of enterprise, possessed of a preternatural expertise for figuring out alternatives everybody else is just too distracted to note.

The opposite actors equally transition alongside the household tree, however fluidity is a part of the enjoying type from the start. In reality, the German accents don’t ever fully disappear from view, even because the Outdated World recedes into the space. “The Lehman Trilogy” is a theatrical palimpsest during which the previous is at all times visibly lurking underneath the ever-changing current.

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Adam Godley, a performer with clown-like plasticity, has been with “The Lehman Trilogy” since London.

Adam Godley, a performer with clown-like plasticity, has been with “The Lehman Trilogy” since London.

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Occasions)

Assimilation brings disconnection together with untold riches. Capitalism acts as an accelerant, not a lot for the play however for the characters, who’re thrown into overdrive, determined to increase generational wealth and energy. Time is stolen from them, and the murmur of Jewish prayers subsides. After Henry dies, the brothers sit shiva for per week. When Mayer dies, solely three days is permitted. By the point Philip shuffles off his mortal coil, the corporate shuts down for a mere three minutes.

For all its vital perspective, “The Lehman Trilogy” takes a considerably romantic view of American capitalism. There’s an undercurrent of nostalgia for the “good outdated days” when shopping for and promoting concerned tangible items. A turning level happens when Philip declares to his father that they’re now “retailers of cash.” The enterprise has develop into summary, a numbers recreation that’s more and more open to manipulation and high-risk maneuvering.

Besotted with an earlier version of the American Dream, the one favored by nineteenth century European immigrants, Massini provides quick shrift to the best way the Lehman fortune was depending on the establishment of slavery. On this model of the script, Mayer, not wanting to depart Montgomery after the Civil Conflict, is advised that “the whole lot that was constructed right here was constructed on a criminal offense.” However the South remains to be largely seen because the launching pad for one household’s rise.

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Historical past is offered as a sequence of bullet factors — wars, financial earthquakes, technological breakthroughs. However lived expertise is elided. Whether or not antisemitism darkened the Lehman brothers’ early days in Alabama is a query no extra dwelled upon than the residing situations of the enslaved employees who carried the plantation financial system.

A longing runs via the play for the older financial order, which is seen as extra gentlemanly and meritocratic than the brash new wave ushered in by predatory merchants, who’re extra snug with computer systems than with human beings.

By the point Robert Lehman, Philip’s Yale-educated son who makes Faustian bargains to maintain the corporate aggressive within the second half of the twentieth century, dies, there aren’t any extra Lehmans within the boardroom. However the seeds of destruction had been planted way back with the household’s palms.

Beale, Godley and Overshown are dressed all through in mourning fits, which is acceptable for a play that claims a kaddish for American capitalism. “The Lehman Trilogy” is without delay overlong and incomplete, however the theatrical image is so deftly drawn that it leaves a haunting picture of a nation grieving its personal delusion.

Howard W. Overshown Simon Russell Beale and Adam Godley.

“The Lehman Trilogy” takes a considerably romantic view of American capitalism.

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Occasions)

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‘The Lehman Trilogy’

The place: Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N. Grand Ave., L.A.

When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays, 2 and eight p.m. Saturdays, 1 and seven p.m. Sundays. Ends April 10. Name for exceptions.

Tickets: $35-$225 (topic to vary)

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Info: (213) 972-4400 or centertheatregroup.org

Working time: 3 hours, 20 minutes, together with two 15-minute intermissions

COVID protocol: Proof of full vaccination and booster is required. Masks are required always. (Verify web site for adjustments.)

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How did Travis Kelce know he was falling for Taylor Swift? He offers a 'genuine' answer

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How did Travis Kelce know he was falling for Taylor Swift? He offers a 'genuine' answer

Travis Kelce isn’t afraid to share his love story.

It turns out that Taylor Swift’s unexpected behavior during the Kansas City Chiefs game against the Chicago Bears in September tipped the relationship into this-is-the-real-deal territory, he said on the “Bussin’ With the Boys” podcast.

Kelce explained that they had already been seeing each other privately but that her attitude toward taking things public impressed him.

He offered her a security escort into the stadium, but she brushed it off and walked in with the rest of his guests.

“She really won me over with that one,” the tight end said, describing how Swift preferred to “be around family and friends and experience this with everybody” instead of getting celebrity treatment.

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“She’s very self-aware. And I think that’s why I really started to really fall for her, was how genuine she is around friends [and] family. It can get crazy for somebody with that much attention … and she just keeps it so chill and so cool.”

The two have kept the intimate details of their relationship under wraps but are notably more public than Taylor has been with past boyfriends. Their passionate kiss after Kelce’s Super Bowl win in February effectively broke the internet, and he joined her onstage in London over the weekend, spicing up the Eras tour.

Kelce says he wants to “keep things private,” but “at the same time, I’m not here to hide anything … that’s my girl, that’s my lady.”

He did admit there have been a few downsides to entering her spotlight — notably, random fans showing up at his pad in Kansas City, Kan.

“I’ve had fun with just about every aspect of it. It’s just when you’re at home you want privacy, and you don’t always get that,” he said.

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The wild online speculation is another annoyance. The athlete said that his father would come across crazy tabloid stories from time to time and call him to fact-check.

“He’d see something so f— out of the blue, like something about me and Taylor, he’s like, ‘Hey, you guys OK?’”

Kelce always has a reply at the ready: “Get the f— off Facebook, Dad.”

And for those still wondering — KillaTrav’s favorite TSwift songs are “Black Space,” “Cruel Summer” and “So High School.”

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Movie Review: ‘Summer Camp’ is an entertaining disappointment

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Movie Review: ‘Summer Camp’ is an entertaining disappointment

Nothing forges a friendship like treating an arrow wound. For Ginny, Mary and Nora, an ill-fated archery lesson and an injured classmate are just the beginning of the lifetime of trouble they’re about to start.

Ginny is a year above the other two, more experienced in both summer camp and girlhood, and takes it upon herself to somewhat forcefully guide her younger friends. Mary cowers in the bathroom away from her bunkmates, spouting medical facts, while Nora hangs back, out of place. When their camp counselor plucks them out of their cabin groups to place them in the new “Sassafras” cabin, they feel like they fit in somewhere for the first time.

50 years later, “Summer Camp” sees the three girls, now women, reunite for the anniversary reunion of the very same camp at which they met. Although they’ve been in touch on-and-off in the preceding decades, this will be the first time the women have seen each other in 15 years.

Between old camp crushes, childhood nemeses and the newer trials of adulthood, the three learn to understand each other, and themselves, in a way that has eluded them the entirety of their friendship.

I really wanted to like “Summer Camp.”

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The opening scene, a glimpse at the girls’ first year together at Camp Pinnacle, does a good job at establishing Ginny, Mary and Nora’s dynamic. It’s sweet, funny and feels true to the experience of many adolescent girls’ friendships.

On top of that, this movie’s star-studded cast and heartwarming concept endeared me to it the moment I saw the trailer. Unfortunately, an enticing trailer is about the most “Summer Camp” has to offer.

As soon as we meet our trio as adults, things start to fall apart. It really feels like the whole movie was made to be cut into a trailer — the music is generic, shots cut abruptly between poses, places and scenes, and at one point two of the three separate shots of each woman exiting Ginny’s tour bus are repeated.

The main character and sometimes narrator, Ginny Moon, is a self-help writer who uses “therapy speak” liberally and preaches a tough-love approach to self improvement. This sometimes works perfectly for the movie’s themes but is often used to thwop the viewer over the head with a mallet labeled “WHAT THE CHARACTERS ARE THINKING” rather than letting us figure it out for ourselves.

There are glimpses of a better script — like when Mary’s husband asks her whether she was actually having fun or just being bullied, presumably by Ginny. This added some depth to her relationship with him, implying he actually does listen to her sometimes, and acknowledged the nagging feeling I’d been getting in the back of my head: “Hey, isn’t Ginny kind of mean?”

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Despite all my annoyance with “Summer Camp,” there were a few things I really liked about it. I’m a lot younger than the main characters of this movie, but there were multiple points where I found myself thinking, “Hey, my aunt talks like that!” or, “Wow, he sounds just like my dad.”

The dynamic of the three main characters felt very true to life, I’ve known and been each of them at one point or another. It felt especially accurate to the relationships of girls and women, and seeing our protagonists reconcile at the end was, for me, genuinely heartwarming.

“Summer Camp” is not a movie I can recommend for quality, but if you’re looking for a lighthearted, somewhat silly romp to help you get into the summer spirit, this one will do just fine.

Other stories by Caroline

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Caroline Julstrom, intern, may be reached at 218-855-5851 or cjulstrom@brainerddispatch.com.

Caroline Julstrom finished her second year at the University of Minnesota in May 2024, and started working as a summer intern for the Brainerd Dispatch in June.

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Lily Gladstone, Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Jessica Alba among newest members of film academy

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Lily Gladstone, Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Jessica Alba among newest members of film academy

Hollywood’s most exclusive club is throwing open its golden gates once again, with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announcing Tuesday it is extending invitations to 487 new members.

Representing 57 countries, the list of invitees includes high-profile names like Lily Gladstone, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Jessica Alba and Catherine O’Hara alongside numerous less starry but still accomplished performers, filmmakers, executives and below-the-line professionals. This diverse group comprises 71 Academy Award nominees and 19 Oscar winners.

Continuing its push for greater inclusion even after reaching its post-#OscarsSoWhite diversity goals, the Academy revealed that 44% of the new class identify as women, and 41% are from underrepresented ethnic/racial communities, up from 40% and 34%, respectively, in 2023.

More than half of this year’s invitees are from outside the United States, reflecting the academy’s continued global expansion, bringing the group’s total international membership to 20%.

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“We are thrilled to welcome this year’s class of new members to the Academy,” said Academy Chief Executive Bill Kramer and President Janet Yang in a joint statement. “These remarkably talented artists and professionals from around the world have made a significant impact on our filmmaking community.”

Although still significantly larger than the annual groups of invitees in decades past, which were generally limited to around 100 people, this year’s class is roughly half the size of the record-setting 2018 class, which included 928 members. Since reaching its post-#OscarSoWhite goal of doubling the number of women and people of color in its membership ranks in 2020, the academy has brought down its more recent class sizes to ensure it can continue to support its rapidly growing membership.

Including the new class, 35% of the academy’s members now identify as women, and 20% are from underrepresented ethnic/racial communities, maintaining and slightly improving upon last year’s benchmarks.

Six branches invited more women than men this year: actors, casting directors, costume designers, documentary filmmakers, executives and makeup artists and hairstylists. Four branches — actors, directors, documentary filmmakers and writers — drew the majority of their candidates from underrepresented ethnic/racial communities.

In the actors branch, invitees include “Killers of the Flower Moon” star Gladstone, who this year became the first Native American actress to be nominated for an Academy Award, and German actor Sandra Hüller, a nominee for “Anatomy of a Fall,” along with Randolph, who won the supporting actress prize for “The Holdovers.”

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In the directors branch, invitees include Justine Triet, who earned the original screenplay Oscar this year for “Anatomy of a Fall” and also was invited into the writers branch along with her partner and co-writer on the film, Arthur Harari. Also invited were filmmakers S.S. Rajamouli (“RRR”), Celine Song (“Past Lives”), Cord Jefferson (“American Fiction”) and Boots Riley (“Sorry to Bother You”).

Notably, two of the key figures involved in last year’s historic strikes of writers and actors were invited into the executive branch: Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, chief negotiator for SAG-AFTRA, and Ellen Stutzman, chief negotiator for the Writers Guild of America.

If all invitees accept their invitations, the academy’s total membership will grow to 10,910, including 9,934 voting members.

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