A.L. Erlanger

Abraham Lincoln Erlanger (May 4, 1859 â€" March 7, 1930) was an American theatrical producer, director, designer, theatre owner, and a leading figure of the Theatrical Syndicate.

Born in Buffalo, New York, Erlanger and his partner, a Kentucky lawyer named Marc Klaw, started out as a theatrical booking agency in New York City in 1886. Immensely successful, together they built a large chain of theatres and vaudeville playhouses. In 1896 they joined with theatre operators Al Hayman, Charles Frohman, Samuel F. Nixon, and Fred Zimmerman to form the Theatrical Syndicate. Their organization known as "Klaw & Erlanger" established systemized booking networks throughout the United States and created a monopoly that controlled every aspect of contracts and bookings until the late 1910s when the Shubert brothers broke their stranglehold on the industry.

The operations of Klaw & Erlanger produced dozens of Broadway shows during the first three decades of the 20th century, including "Dracula," "Ben-Hur," and "The Jazz Singer." They were responsible for opening the rooftop "Jardin de Paris" where the first Ziegfeld Follies was staged. They also built some of Broadway's most outstanding theaters such as the art nouveau New Amsterdam Theatre in 1903 and in 1927 Erlanger's Theatre (renamed the St. James) plus the new Forrest Theatre in Philadelphia. 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 Shubert brothers after Sam Shubert died in a train wreck when he is said to have refused to abide by any legal agreements "with a dead man." The enraged Shuberts began an all out campaign to wrestle power in the industry away from him. In 1919, after he dismissed out of hand the demands of the Actors' Equity Association, the labor union launched a strike that eventually shut down all the theatres in New York city, Chicago, and Boston. 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 made their last Broadway production in September of 1924. Abe Erlanger continued to produce on Broadway until his death in 1930. He is interred in the Beth El Cemetery in Ridgewood, New York.