Glorious work by all

Rags to riches to rags.

This ancient axiom neatly describes Stefano Massini’s epic play The Lehman Trilogy, now mesmerizing at Stages. Adapted from the Italian (and its five-hour long length) by Ben Power, Lehman now clocks in at a more reasonable three-and-a-half hours with two intermissions. Believe me, the time flies by.

Consistently entertaining, the drama encapsulates the history of the largest and most powerful of all American investment companies, Lehman Brothers, whose bankruptcy in 2008 rocked Wall Street and led to the collapse of the tottering global financial empire that had been built on sand. The fall was big, huge, and the consequences are still felt to this day.