THE LEHMAN TRILOGY – LIVE ON STAGE Makes Southern Premiere

 Theatrical Outfit and The Breman will once again partner for the Southern Premiere of THE LEHMAN TRILOGY – LIVE ON STAGE February 5 – March 2, 2025 at Theatrical Outfit in the heart of Downtown Atlanta.

Weaving together nearly two centuries of family history, THE LEHMAN TRILOGY charts the humble beginnings, outrageous successes and devastating failure of the financial institution that would bring the global economy to its knees. Join Theatrical Outfit and The Breman for the Atlanta Premiere of this Tony Award-winning new play – an epic theatrical triumph featuring 3 actors in an extraordinary feat of storytelling that must be seen to be believed.

3 Actors. 2 Decade Spanning Tale. 1 Unforgettable Theatrical Feat. Needless to say, the best of the best is required to pull this off, and just that was brought on. The 3 actors bringing this all to life are ATL legends Andrew Benator (Remember This: The Lesson of Jan Karski) as Mayer Lehman, Brian Kurlander (Indecent) as Henry Lehman, and Eric Mendenhall (Big River) as Emanuel Lehman.

 

“Since the World Premiere at The National Theatre in London, THE LEHMAN TRILOGY has wowed audiences on Broadway and been performed all over the world,” says Matt Torney, Artistic Director of Theatrical Outfit. “It tells the story of the rise and fall of the Lehman Brothers bank, which was the first bank to fall in the financial collapse in 2008, but in a very unexpected way. We are taken back to the very beginning of the story when a young Jewish man called Henry Lehman stepped off a boat at a dock in New York City with only one piece of luggage ‘dreaming of America,’ (like so many other immigrants). What follows is a story about brotherhood,

about economics, about immigration and assimilation, about the loss of identity and most importantly about how generations of Lehman’s attempted to keep the business afloat through some of the most turbulent moments in American history. The play captures something powerful about the spirit that fueled American Capitalism, and also something about how the dream of America grows in unexpected directions with the turning of each generation. The Lehman’s are not the heroes of this story, just a complex lens through which we can view the ‘magical music box’ of the American story in all its brilliance and contradiction.  At its heart, the play is a story about three Jewish immigrants from a small town in Bavaria, and how each of them left their mark on their new adopted home.”

Matt Torney (Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?) returns to direct and lead an extremely talented group of Atlanta based designers, including: Dialect Coaching by Cara Reid, Scenic Design by Isabel and Moriah Curley-Clay, Costume Design by April Andrew Carswell, Lighting Design by David Reingold, Composition & Sound Design by Kendall Simpson, and Properties Design by Caroline Cook, with Gabby Peralta serving as Stage Manager.

“While the Jewish-founded Lehman Brothers became an infamous New York business (albeit one with roots in Birmingham, Alabama), Jewish Atlantans played quieter, yet essential, roles in this city’s go-go business culture,” says Leslie Gordon, Executive Director of The Breman. “History with Chutzpah captures many stories of immigrant Jewish businesspeople in Atlanta and throughout both Georgia and Alabama -- peddlers, barbers, candy makers and store owners -- who worked hard to make it in what was, at least initially for many, an unfamiliar place and culture. Among those was the Jewish- owned Jacobs’ Pharmacy, around the corner from Theatrical Outfit at Five Points, which in 1886 became the first place where Coca-Cola was served as a fountain drink! Whether it’s in the form of an exhibit, an author reading or a performance, The Breman is bubbly about being the place “where story keepers and story seekers share the wonder of the Jewish experience.”

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