Life

Leimans' donation boosts Playhouse coffers

David and Sharon Leiman

By Lightning Reports, Published: June 9, 2020

Just a few days after moving from New York City to Flat Rock in 2016, David and Sharon Leiman set out to explore the arts in their new community.

They saw Million Dollar Quartet at the Flat Rock Playhouse and they state “it absolutely removed the pain of giving up 34 years of attending the Metropolitan Opera and living just a few blocks from Broadway theaters.” They have since become regular patrons and major supporters of the Playhouse.

Now, thanks to te Liemans' generous donation, donations since May 1 that met specific categories were matched dollar for dollar, up to $36,000.18. And thanks to generous community members, that challenge was met and exceeded by the end of May.

In 2017 the Leimans named the Leiman Mainstage to memorialize and honor family members who perished in Auschwitz among 6 million other Jews plus the millions of Catholics, gay people, people with disabilities and other minorities who also were killed in the Holocaust. The Leiman name has been affixed to several other places of memory including the Leiman Garden of Reflection at the Gurwin Center in New York, founded by Joe Gurwin, a Holocaust survivor and founder of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington. The Leiman Fund has donated many reclaimed and newly discovered artifacts to the Museum and David served on the Gurwin Board of Directors for 25 years.

This is the third year the Leimans have made a matching gift, challenging others to step up to support the Playhouse. Their gift of $36,000.18 is that specific amount because of the Jewish belief that multiples of 18 bring good luck; the magic of Chai. Thanks to 110 donors, that amount was met and exceeded in three short weeks, totaling $43,833.68.