Film, TV veteran Joey Slotnick returns to the stage in TimeLine/Broadway in Chicago's 'The Lehman Trilogy'
Joey Slotnick has his Chicago-area friends to thank, in part at least, for his role in TimeLine Theatre and Broadway in Chicago's much-anticipated regional premiere of "The Lehman Trilogy."
Informing him of TimeLine's regional premiere, they urged him to read Stefano Massini's play about the founders of Lehman Brothers, the investment firm that collapsed during the 2008 recession resulting from the subprime mortgage crisis and subsequent stock market crash.
"I loved the script," said Slotnick, a longtime Lookingglass Theatre ensemble member, whose extensive credits include films ("Pirates of Silicon Valley," "Too Big to Fail," "Hollow Man" and Ethan Coen's upcoming "Drive-Away Dolls" among others), TV ("The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," "The Good Wife," "Boston Public") and theater.
It's all about telling stories, he said. "The more I can do that, the happier I am."
Given a choice however, Slotnick said he "would always choose theater ... I love being in a rehearsal room with like-minded artists telling a story, figuring out what that story is."
"Unfortunately, theater doesn't always pay the bills," said the actor, who performs mostly with Lookingglass, but has appeared on Goodman and Steppenwolf stages and on Broadway.
TimeLine wasn't on his radar, but colleagues raved about the Chicago theater. That plus the reputation of the show's co-directors - TimeLine associate artistic director Nick Bowling and Vanessa Stalling - convinced Slotnick to audition.
He plays Mayer, one of three Jewish brothers who emigrate to the U.S. from Bavaria, Germany, in the mid-19th-century, settle in Alabama and found a clothing store that evolves into a financial powerhouse.
"It's a great challenge as an actor," said Slotnick, who, like castmates Mitchell Fain and Anish Jethmalani, plays multiple characters.
The experiences of the Lehman siblings differ from what most people understand as the immigrant experience.
"There is no Ellis Island when the play begins," he said, "no Statue of Liberty. It was a different time in America and it's interesting to explore that."
In addition to being an immigration story, "The Lehman Trilogy" is also a story about the relationships between fathers and sons and the danger of unfettered capitalism.
"There is a great divide between the haves and the have notes," Slotnick said, adding, "the American dream is to make it in America, and that's getting more and more difficult. How did that happen? Can we change it? Is it making us happier?"
That's up to audience members to decide. Each one experiences the story differently, he said, which is the beauty of live theater.
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"The Lehman Trilogy"
When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday through Oct. 29. Also 2 p.m. Oct. 4, 11 and 25. No 7:30 p.m. show Oct. 8, 15 and 29
Where: TimeLine Theatre and Broadway in Chicago at the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place, 175 E. Chestnut St., Chicago, timelinetheatre.com or broadwayinchicago.com
Tickets: $35-$105