THE LEHMAN TRILOGY Comes to the Alabama Shakespeare Festival

Alabama Shakespeare Festival will present The Lehman Trilogy directed by Matt Torney, Jan. 29 — Feb. 15 on the Octagon Stage. 

Inspired by a true story, The Lehman Trilogy chronicles the lives and legacy of brothers Henry, Emanuel, and Mayer Lehman. From their humble beginnings as immigrants in Montgomery, Alabama, the production traces their ascent into the world of investment banking, the founding of Lehman Brothers in New York, and the far-reaching consequences of its eventual collapse — an event that helped shape the 2008 global financial crisis generations later. 

The play was written by Tony Award winner and Olivier Award nominee Stefano Massini and adapted by BAFTA nominee Ben Power (The Hollow Crown). The original Broadway production went on to win five Tony Awards, including Best Play. The story touches on the themes of ambition, family, and the American Dream. 

ASF Artistic Director Quin Gresham said bringing The Lehman Trilogy to the stage in Montgomery feels both meaningful and necessary. “Experiencing this story here, where it began, invites us to reflect not only on history, but on our own relationship to progress, power, and responsibility,” said Gresham. 

Director Mat Torney said the play captures something powerful about the spirit that fueled American capitalism and how the dream of America grew in unexpected directions with the turning of each generation. “The Lehmans are not heroes in this story,” said Torney. “Rather, they are complex human beings who offer a lens through which to view the 'magical music box' of the American story in all its brilliance and contradiction.” 

Actors Andrew Benator, Brian Kurlander, and Eric Mendenhall portray the Lehman brothers, in addition to a myriad of other characters in the three-act production. This cast and director reunite for their second production of The Lehman Trilogy after Theatrical Outfit's Atlanta production in 2025. 

Kurlander joins the cast as Henry Lehman, the oldest brother and the first to arrive in Alabama. Kurlander appeared 15 plays as an ASF company member, including The Last Night of Ballyhoo, The Merchant of Venice, Richard III, King Lear, Troilus and Cressida, and as Romeo in Romeo and Juliet during the 1996 season. He returns to Montgomery where he met his wife, former WSFA news anchor Carrie Johnson. 

Mendenhall makes his ASF debut as the middle brother, Emanuel Lehman. Mendenhall has been seen at Atlanta's Alliance Theatre in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Temple Bombing, and A Christmas Carol, as well as at Georgia Shakespeare in Hamlet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Much Ado About Nothing. He will also be in the upcoming series Cape Fear, premiering on Apple TV+ later this year. 

Benator rounds out the cast as the youngest brother, Mayer Lehman. Benator has been seen Off-Broadway and regionally in Remember This: The Lesson of Jan Karski, The White Chip, Indecent, Disgraced, August: Osage County, and Eurydice. His film and TV credits include The Founder, Million Dollar Arm, Amazing Stories, Tyler Perry's House of Payne, Bigger, and Stranger Things.        

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