Abraham Lincoln Erlanger (May 4, 1859 – March 7, 1930) was an American

theatrical producer Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communi ...

, director, designer, theater owner, and a leading figure of the

Theatrical Syndicate Starting in 1896, the Theatrical Syndicate was an organization in the United States that controlled the majority of bookings in the country's leading theatrical attractions. The six-man group was in charge of theatres and bookings. The Syndicate's ...

Biography

Erlanger was born to a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

familyJewish Telegraph Agency: "Funeral Services for A. L. Erlanger, Theatrical Magnate"
March 10, 1930 in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

. Erlanger and his partner,

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

lawyer

Marc Klaw Marc Klaw, (born Marcus Alonzo Klaw, May 29, 1858 – June 14, 1936) was an American lawyer, theatrical producer, theater owner, and a leading figure of the Theatrical Syndicate. Life and work Referred to as both Mark and Marc, he was born in ...

, started out as a theatrical booking agency in New York City]l in 1888. Immensely successful, together they built a large chain of theatres and

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

playhouses. In 1896, they joined with theatre operators Al Hayman,

Charles Frohman Charles Frohman (July 15, 1856 – May 7, 1915) was an American theater manager and producer, who discovered and promoted many stars of the American stage. Frohman produced over 700 shows, and among his biggest hits was '' Peter Pan'', both ...

, Samuel F. Nixon, and Fred Zimmerman to form the Theatrical Syndicate.

Florenz Ziegfeld Florenz Edward Ziegfeld Jr. (; March 21, 1867 – July 22, 1932) was an American Broadway impresario, notable for his series of theatrical revues, the ''Ziegfeld Follies'' (1907–1931), inspired by the '' Folies Bergère'' of Paris. He al ...

joined the Syndicate in 1906 but had produced plays for them before he joined. Their organization, known as "

Klaw & Erlanger Klaw and Erlanger was an entertainment management and production partnership of Marc Klaw and A. L. Erlanger, Abraham Lincoln Erlanger based in New York City from 1888 through 1919. While running their own considerable and multi-faceted theatric ...

", established systemized booking networks throughout the United States and created a

monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek and ) is a market in which one person or company is the only supplier of a particular good or service. A monopoly is characterized by a lack of economic Competition (economics), competition to produce ...

that controlled every aspect of contracts and bookings until the late 1910s when the

Shubert brothers The Shubert family was responsible for the establishment of Broadway theaters in New York City's Theater District, as the hub of the theatre industry in the United States. Through the Shubert Organization, founded by brothers Lee, Sam, and Jac ...

broke their hold on the industry. The operations of Klaw & Erlanger produced dozens of

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

shows during the first three decades of the 20th century, including ''

Dracula ''Dracula'' is an 1897 Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. The narrative is Epistolary novel, related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist and opens ...

'', ''

Ben-Hur Ben-Hur or Ben Hur may refer to: Fiction *'' Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ'', an 1880 novel by American general and author Lew Wallace ** ''Ben-Hur'' (play), a play that debuted on Broadway in 1899 ** ''Ben Hur'' (1907 film), a one-reel silent ...

'', and ''

The Jazz Singer ''The Jazz Singer'' is a 1927 American part-talkie musical drama film directed by Alan Crosland and produced by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is the first feature-length motion picture with both synchronized recorded music and lip-synchronous ...

''."A.L. Erlanger Broadway Listings"
Internet Broadway Database, accessed December 2, 2011 They produced the first ''

Ziegfeld Follies The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' were a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934, 1936, 1943, and 1957. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as '' The Ziegfeld Foll ...

'' in 1907 at the rooftop " Jardin de Paris" in New York City. They also built several of Broadway's most outstanding theaters such as the

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

New Amsterdam Theatre The New Amsterdam Theatre is a Broadway theatre, Broadway theater at 214 West 42nd Street (Manhattan), 42nd Street, at the southern end of Times Square, in the Theater District, Manhattan, Theater District of Manhattan in New York City, New Yor ...

in 1903 and in 1927 Erlanger's Theatre (renamed the St. James) plus the new Erlanger Theatre in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. Also in 1927, he leased a newly built theatre in

and applied the Erlanger name to it. In addition to playhouses, he and his partner owned the "Klaw & Erlanger Opera Company" and "Klaw and Erlanger's Costume Company." Erlanger's cold disdain and ruthless tactics helped bring about his own downfall. He made a bitter enemy of the

after

Sam Shubert Samuel S. Shubert (August 27, 1878 – May 12, 1905) was an American producer and theatre owner/operator. He was the middle son in the Shubert family and was raised in Syracuse, New York. Shubert died at age 26 due to injuries sustained in a ...

died in a train wreck in 1905, when he is said to have refused to abide by any legal agreements "with a dead man." The enraged Shubert brothers Lee and Jacob began an all out campaign to wrestle power in the industry away from the Theatrical Syndicate. In 1910, he drew the ire of New York mayor William Jay Gaynor when one of his theaters hosted '' The Girl with the Whooping Cough'', a risque farce that the mayor condemned as indecent. In 1919, after he dismissed out of hand the demands of the

Actors' Equity Association The Actors' Equity Association (AEA), commonly called Actors' Equity or simply Equity, is an American trade union, labor union representing those who work in Theatre, live theatrical performance. Performers appearing in live stage productions w ...

, the

labor union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

launched a strike that eventually shut down all the theatres in New York City,

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, and

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. In the end, Erlanger suffered large financial losses and had no choice but to accede to union demands. The strike spelled the demise of his once powerful organization and the partnership of Klaw & Erlanger produced their last Broadway show in 1919 (''The Velvet Lady''). Erlanger continued to produce on Broadway. He died on March 7, 1930."A.L. Erlanger Dies After Long Illness"
'The New York Times'' (abstract), March 8, 1930 He is interred at Beth El Cemetery in Ridgewood, New York. Rumor of marriage. Erlanger's brother was lawyer and

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the superior court in the Judiciary of New York. It is vested with unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction, although in many counties outside New York City it acts primarily as a court of civil ju ...

Justice Mitchell L. Erlanger, who served as counsel for his brother's company and took it over upon Abraham's death.

Former theatres

Theaters controlled by Erlanger included:

Broadway

* Erlanger Theatre *

Fulton Theatre The Fulton Theatre was a Broadway theatre located at 210 West 46th Street in Manhattan, New York City, that was opened in 1911. It was renamed the Helen Hayes Theatre in 1955. The theatre was demolished in 1982. After the former Little Theatre o ...

* Gaiety Theatre * George M. Cohan's Theatre * Knickerbocker Theatre *

Liberty Theatre The Liberty Theatre is a former Broadway theatre, Broadway theater at 234 West 42nd Street in the Theater District, Manhattan, Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1904, the theater was designed by Herts & Tallant ...

Henry Miller's Theatre The Stephen Sondheim Theatre, formerly Henry Miller's Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 124 West 43rd Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Owned by the Durst Organization and managed by the Rou ...

**New Amsterdam Roof

Regional

*Erlanger Theatre (Atlanta) *

Colonial Theatre (Boston) The Colonial Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts, opened in 1900, is the oldest continually-operating theatre in the city. It is located at 106 Boylston Street on Boston Common at the former site of the Boston Public Library. It is a pending Bost ...

Hollis Street Theatre The Hollis Street Theatre (1885–1935) was a theatre in Boston, Massachusetts, that presented dramatic plays, opera, musical concerts, and other entertainments. Brief history Boston architect John R. Hall designed the 1,600-seat theatre in 18 ...

(Boston) * Tremont Theatre (Boston) *Erlanger Theatre (Buffalo) *

Blackstone Theatre The Merle Reskin Theatre is a performing arts venue located in the Chicago Loop, Loop Community areas of Chicago, community area of Chicago, Illinois. Originally named the Blackstone Theatre it was built in 1910. Renamed the Merle Reskin Theatr ...

(Chicago) *Erlanger Theatre (Chicago) *Illinois Theatre (Chicago) *Grand Opera House (Cincinnati) * Biltmore Theatre (Los Angeles) * Mason Theatre (Los Angeles) *Crescent Theatre (New Orleans) *Tulane Theatre (New Orleans) * Erlanger Theatre (Philadelphia) *Nixon Theatre (Pittsburgh) *Metropolitan Theatre (Seattle) *American Theatre (St. Louis)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Erlanger American theatre managers and producers Artists from Buffalo, New York 19th-century American Jews 1859 births 1930 deaths