The Lehman Trilogy Learning Hub
Discover more about the themes and topics covered in The Lehman Trilogy.
The Lehman Trilogy | Sept. 19–Oct. 12
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The Story Behind The Lehman Trilogy
When Henry Lehman stepped off a ship from Bavaria, Germany in 1844, he likely never imagined that the small Alabama dry goods store he opened with his two brothers would one day grow into one of the biggest investment banks in the world. Alongside his brothers, Emanuel and Mayer Lehman, Henry helped lay the foundation for a company that would shape modern finance, and whose downfall would trigger the 2008 global financial crisis. This is their story.
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Faith, Family, and Finance: Jewish Holidays in The Lehman Trilogy
When The Lehman Trilogy begins, the brothers arrive in America carrying more than their ambition. They bring with them the rhythms of Jewish life — holidays, rituals, and traditions that quietly shape the story across its 160-year span. The play is not a religious tale, yet Judaism pulses in the background: sometimes openly practiced, sometimes abbreviated, and eventually, almost forgotten. Observing how the family engages with these rituals provides a lens for understanding both the passage of time and the evolution of identity.
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The Business of Slavery: Uncovering the Unspoken
While The Lehman Trilogy tells the epic story of an immigrant family rising and falling on the career ladder, there is little mention of the enslaved people who catapulted their success. Both history and theater remind us to reflect on the perspective that is portrayed and which perspectives might be missing. Let’s learn how one family’s fortune was built at the expense of millions of enslaved people.
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Article
The Lehman Trilogy and King Cotton
One can almost picture fat cats of old, sitting back, feet raised and crossed on wooden desks, smoking cigars and intoning the slogan that made America rich. King Cotton. Those two words, used just as we might today use “Bull Market,” summed up the prominence the industry built around the crop. Viewers of The Lehman Trilogy, indeed, get a glimpse into King Cotton’s power. After all, it was the commodity on which one of the largest financial institutions in the world, at the time of its collapse in 2008, was built.
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From Rimpar to America
The Lehman Trilogy begins in a small Bavarian town, Rimpar, but the drama it portrays is rooted in the broader historical realities faced by Jews across 19th century Germany. At that time, Germany was not a single unified nation but a patchwork of kingdoms, duchies, and city-states, each with its own laws and regulations. Life for Jewish families was tightly regulated: where they could live, whom they could marry, and the professions they could pursue were all controlled by local authorities.
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Timeline of Events
The following are events from the play with the addition of other events in the Lehmans’ lives to flesh out the story. The great scope of the Lehmans’ saga is shown against historical events that serve as markers of time and progress over the play’s 164 years.
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Glossary of Terms
Learn more about the terms related to The Lehman Trilogy, covering people, places, events, terms, and things.
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Places of Note
Orient yourself on when and where The Lehman Trilogy takes place.
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The Lehman Family
Follow along with the generations of the Lehman family