“The Lehman Trilogy” has set a Sept. 25 Broadway start date, after its initial Broadway opening was delayed by the pandemic.
It returns to Broadway without the trio of Scott Rudin, Barry Diller and David Geffen listed as lead producers. In April, Rudin announced that he would “step back from active participation” on Broadway, following allegations of workplace harassment and bullying.
The production credits the National Theatre and Neal Street Productions, who produced and developed the original London production in 2018, as the main producers. Neal Street Productions is led by Sam Mendes, director of “The Lehman Trilogy,” Pippa Harris and Caro Newling. Diller and Geffen remain with the production as co-producers.
Original cast members Simon Russell Beale and Adam Godley will return in their roles, with Adrian Lester taking over the role of Emanuel Lehman, previously played by Ben Miles. This is the Broadway debut for Lester, who has starred in several West End productions including as Bobby in “Company,” directed by Mendes, and “Six Degrees of Separation.”
The play began previews on Broadway at the Nederlander theatre on March 7, 2020 and was forced to close before its opening night on March 26. It will now return to the Nederlander Theatre for a 14-week run, with an opening night set for Oct. 14.
Tickets will be on sale to the general public starting June 9.
After the Broadway engagement, “The Lehman Trilogy” will play the Center Theatre Group’s Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles for a month-long engagement in March 2022 and the Geary Theater in San Francisco in April 2022. Casting for those engagements will be announced at a later date.
The play, by Stefano Massini and adapted by Ben Power, returns to Broadway after runs at London’s National Theatre, on the West End and at Park Avenue Armory in New York. At Park Avenue Armory, the play ran three hours and 20 minutes, which included two intermissions, making it one of the lengthier plays to return to Broadway.
The Broadway production was capitalized for up to $5.75 million, according to financial documents from 2019. Asked whether Rudin still retains a financial stake or involvement in the production, a spokesperson for the show said “Scott Rudin is not involved with the production in any way.”
Other existing productions helmed by Rudin — “West Side Story,” “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “The Book of Mormon” — have yet to announce return dates. Rudin, Diller and Geffen were also the lead producers on the new revival of “The Music Man,” which has announced a first preview date of Dec. 20, 2021.
