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PicksInSix Review: 1776 - Marriott Theatre

 
 

“TO THINK THAT HERE WE ARE.”
PicksInSix® Review | Ed Tracy

The inspiring production of “1776” that opened Wednesday at the Marriott Theatre brought a few familiar thoughts to mind about our young and exuberant country.  Democracy is messy. The more things change, the more they stay the same. And a line from one of Sherman Edwards’ songs: “To think that here we are.”

That jubilant statement is sung out by Benjamin Franklin (Richard R. Henry) to John Adams (Tyrick Wiltez Jones) and Thomas Jefferson (Erik Hellman) as the newly drafted Declaration of Independence is being read to the 2nd Continental Congress. They know that there are pitfalls and more debate ahead—and the reality of the bloody war already underway that is underscored throughout the show with missives from ‘G. Washington’ himself—but for a brief instant, getting to this point feels like a small victory.

Obviously, no one truly knows what transpired in the room where this happened. That said, Edwards’ 1969 Tony Award-winning concept, music and lyrics and Peter Stone’s book together create a captivating menagerie of historical characters who are (mostly) bent on unification. All those years later we are today mired in a never-ending election cycle and immersed in an escalating debate about the future vision for our democracy. There is hope and we do generally agree that a new, yet imperfect, nation was formed on July 4, 1776 for the people of the thirteen original colonies, even as freedom and equality for all is still lagging woefully behind.

With director Nick Bowling’s steady hand, sharp choreography by Tanji Harper and a casting coup that has assembled many of Chicago’s top performing artists together on one stage, Marriott Theatre’s “1776” has a sweeping professional sheen as one of the finest and most unique shows on stage right now.

The opposing voice to Adams’s passionate colonial independence is embodied in Pennsylvania delegate John Dickinson, a stellar performance by Heidi Kettenring. The two opposing forces—mediated by Joel Gelman’s stalwart John Hancock and Gabriel Lott-Rogers‘s Charles Thomson with assistance from the ever-present Karl Hamilton as Andrew McNair—weave arguments and slow progress to a bitter stalemate. Along the way, songs teeter from the humorous—“Sit Down, John,” “The Lees of Old Virginia” and “He Plays The Violin”—to the horrific, by South Carolina’s Edward Rutledge (Matthew Hommel) whose chilling referendum to slavery “Molasses to Rum” is alarmingly prophetic. The moving performances of Katherine Alexis Thomas (Abigail Adams), Alicia Kaori (Martha Jefferson), Lucy Godinez (Richard Henry Lee) and a remarkable performance by Jay Westbrook (Courier) in “Momma Look Sharp” deserve special mention in a company stocked with extraordinary voices under the musical direction of Ryan T. Nelson and conductor Brad Haak.

Regina Garcia’s crisp, multi-level scenic design expands Marriott’s in-the-round configuration to create a wide and striking panorama of the chamber interior punctuated by Jesse Klug’s evocative light design and Michael Daly’s pinpoint sound design. The visual picture is complete with Theresa Ham’s gorgeous costumes that make “1776” a truly wonderful—and historic—theatrical event.  

PHOTO|Liz Lauren

Marriott Theatre Lincolnshire
presents
1776
through October 13, 2024


Ten Marriott Drive
Lincolnshire, IL 60069

WEBSITE

TICKETS

847-634-0200 (Box Office)


For more reviews, visit: Theatre In Chicago

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PicksInSix® is a registered trademark of Roxbury Road Creative, LLC

PicksInSix Review: The Lehman Trilogy - Timeline Theatre Company | Broadway in Chicago

 
 

Searching For The Next Big Thing!
PicksInSix® Gold Review | Ed Tracy

Though it's not customarily appropriate to disclose the ending of a dramatic piece up front—and certainly one as consequential as the Chicago premiere of the 2022 Tony Award-winning “The Lehman Trilogy,” a brilliantly staged co-production of TimeLine Theatre Company and Broadway in Chicago that opened at the Broadway Playhouse on Wednesday night—there it is right in front of us all at the top of the show: A blinding frenzy of news reports cascading across multiple screens on Collete Pollard’s striking, multi-level set composed of stacks of banker’s boxes, copy machines and office furniture. Few born before 1990 will need to know much more about the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis that toppled world financial organizations and placed tremendous hardship on America’s middle class.

“The Lehman Trilogy” serves as a rich and compelling reflection of our troubling financial times and a largely fact-based interpretation of the journey that led to this unimaginable end. The story hinges on the notion that the events that we know all too well are actually a consequence of succession and not of the vision and passion of its founders.

Wisely, and with blistering speed, “The Lehman Trilogy” focuses on the burgeoning path of their family pilgrimage to America, their aspirations and legacy. We first meet Heyum ‘Henry’ Lehman (Mitchell J. Fain), the eldest brother and patriarch of the family empire, as he arrives in New York in September 1844 and establishes a storefront business in Montgomery, Alabama.  Henry is joined by Mendel ‘Emanuel’ (Anish Jethmalani) in a few years and then by younger brother Maier ‘Mayer’ (Joey Slotnick).

Stefano Massini’s script, adapted by Ben Power, introduces several dozen characters—heirs, wives and business partners—who first emerge as brokers in the cotton industry in the pre-Civil War years; expand their influence with a major move to New York City that would eventually diversify business models during the Industrial Revolution and into the emerging Stock Market and then on to investment banking operations. Along the way, the Lehman’s developed dynamic investment philosophies and successfully navigated the aftermath of the 1929 Stock Market Crash in the face of enormous challenges.

Through it all, there is a willingness by the Lehmans to constantly look for opportunity—the next big thing—by taking a simple idea and making money with it. Lots of money.

Perhaps the most important element of this epic tale is not the accomplishments of the Lehmans to perpetuate their version of the American Dream, but rather the brilliantly imaginative way the story is told: with only three extraordinarily talented actors playing all roles over the course of the three-act production, one that moves so swiftly and with such grace, humor and pathos that we feel a sense of wonder and awe at every turn.  

There is an economy of scale to the entire production that co-directors Nick Bowling and Vanessa Stalling have baked into every scene that is worthy of a Lehman investment. At one moment, the Lehman brothers are head-to-head passionately debating the next iteration of the company or one is playfully wooing a partner into marriage. In the next moment, characters shift, the stage is on fire and the story launches forward, challenging the emergence of the next generation of the family to cope with molding America’s investment infrastructure on their own. It’s all together a fascinating adventure tale.

Pollard’s towering scenic landscape is richly amplified by the collective brilliance of John Culbert’s lighting design, Anthony Churchill’s projections, André Pluess soundscape and Izumi Inaba’s period costumes.

In truth, Robert Lehman, the last of the Lehman heirs to run the company in this exuberant, fast-paced and superbly staged production, passed away in 1969. The play then races to its conclusion with mergers, buyouts and the highly questionable move to mortgage acquisitions that led to the eventual collapse with nary a Lehman in sight.

By that time in the piece, having been gloriously entertained by these gifted performers, we are left with the understanding that the founders, and their heirs, had successfully pivoted in the face of every threat to the survival of the company for the next generation.

It’s no coincidence that “The Lehman Trilogy” is indeed the next big thing to strike a chord with audiences in Chicago. The show has already been extended through November 26.

PHOTO|Liz Lauren

TIMELINE THEATRE COMPANY
BROADWAY IN CHICAGO
present
THE LEHMAN TRILOGY
NOW EXTENDED
through November 26, 2023

BROADWAY PLAYHOUSE
at Watertower Place


TICKETS
WEBSITE

For more reviews, visit: Theatre In Chicago

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