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 power would peak in 1907.
41-602: Charles Frohman , Al Hayman , A. L. Erlanger , Marc Klaw , Samuel F. Nirdlinger (Nixon) , and Frederick Zimmerman met for lunch at the Holland House in New York City in the early months of 1896. All of them were theatrical managers or booking agents with national influence. Frohman and Hayman owned theatres in New York and the surrounding area, Erlanger and Klaw worked as booking agents for practically all of
82-630: A bill of plays by J. M. Barrie , John Galsworthy , Harley Granville Barker , and others. The venture began tentatively, and while it might have proved successful, Frohman canceled the scheme when London theatres closed at the death of King Edward VII in May 1910. Other Frohman hits included The Dollar Princess (1909), The Arcadians (1910), The Sunshine Girl (1913) and The Girl From Utah (1914). By 1915, Frohman had produced more than 700 shows, employed an average of 10,000 people per season, 700 of them actors, and paid salaries totaling $ 35 million
123-606: A more serious threat in the shape of actor mutiny. Nat Goodwin , Francis Wilson , and Richard Mansfield were among the most notable actors to speak out. James A. Herne and James O'Neill were among those who stood up to the Syndicate. Minnie Maddern Fiske , a well-known actress, became well-known for her opposition to the Syndicate. She became well-known for her parts in Ibsen, Shaw, and Wilde plays. The actors' voices were far louder than any prior opponents'. The conflict, however,
164-645: A play. Sam became enamored with the theatrical arts and went on to be promoted through a series of managerial jobs in Syracuse theatres, including program boy at the Bastable, assistant treasurer at the Grand Opera House, and treasurer of the Weiting. Lee and Jacob also began working in management roles in local theatres, and by 1900, the trio had acquired ownership of the Grand Opera House in Syracuse and
205-492: A railroad accident in 1905. His brothers formed a temporary working deal with the Syndicate after his death. The Shuberts were strong enough to go toe-to-toe with the Syndicate after three years of securing their holdings. The Shuberts began by operating in a similar fashion to the Syndicate. They interacted with theatre managers and were able to book the manager for a year's tour, but anything longer proved unprofitable. The Shubert brothers then shifted their strategy. They gave up on
246-649: A string of London hits prior to 1910, such as Quality Street , The Admirable Crichton , The Catch of the Season , The Beauty of Bath , and A Waltz Dream . At the height of his fame, Frohman died in the 1915 sinking of the RMS Lusitania by a German submarine off the coast of Ireland. Charles Frohman was born to a Jewish family in Sandusky, Ohio , the youngest of three Frohman brothers , including Daniel and Gustave . The year of his birth date
287-592: A year (the equivalent of more than $ 700 million in 2010 dollars). Frohman controlled five theaters in London, six in New York City, and over two hundred throughout the rest of the United States. His longtime live-in companion, theatre critic Charles Dillingham , also became a well-known producer. Frohman made his annual trip to Europe in May 1915 to oversee his London and Paris "play markets", sailing on
328-572: Is generally erroneously reported as 1860, and his birthday is shown as July 16 on his tombstone, but the correct date is July 15, 1856. In 1864, Frohman's family moved to New York City. At the age of twelve, Frohman started to work at night in the office of the New York Tribune , attending school by day. In 1874, he began work for the Daily Graphic and at night sold tickets at Hooley 's Theatre, Brooklyn . In 1877, he took charge of
369-846: The Herald Square Theatre in Manhattan . The three brothers broke the monopoly on the theatre-management industry (represented by the Theatrical Syndicate under Abe Erlanger and Mark Klaw ) in the founding of their agency, known today as The Shubert Organization . By 1924, they owned 86 theatres in the United States, and operated, managed, or booked hundreds more. By 1942, they owned, leased, or managed 20 of New York City's approximately 40 legitimate theatres and controlled some 15 in other cities. By 1953, they had produced 600 shows under their credits and had booked 1,000 shows into their numerous theatres. In 1950,
410-531: The S.S. Spain . They then settled in Syracuse, New York . Due to their father's alcoholism, the three Shubert sons ( Lee Shubert , Sam S. Shubert , and Jacob J. Shubert ) had to give up much of their formal education and instead go to work when they were still children. Lee and Sam sold newspapers outside the Bastable Theater , and David Belasco took notice of Sam and cast him in a small role in
451-574: The Theatrical Syndicate . Their organization 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. In 1897, Frohman leased the Duke of York's Theatre in London, introducing plays there as well as in the United States. Clyde Fitch , J. M. Barrie and Edmond Rostand were among
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#1732773129288492-970: The Winter Garden Theatre , the Shubert Theatre , and the Imperial Theatre . They also own two theatres outside of New York, the Shubert Theatre in Boston and the Forrest Theatre in Philadelphia . Additionally, they own and operate two off-Broadway facilities in New York City, Stage 42 and a 5-stage facility called New World Stages . They also managed the National Theatre in Washington, D.C. until 2013. Jerry Stagg identifies Lee Shubert as
533-573: The legitimate theatre and vaudeville in the first half of the 20th century. The family's history in America began when Duvvid Schubart ( transliterated to "Shubert") and his wife Katrina (Gitel) Helwitz left their native town of Vladislavov in the Russian Empire (now Kudirkos Naumiestis, Lithuania ) with their eight children, two of whom died after the journey. They arrived in New York City from Hamburg , via England, on June 12, 1881 on
574-628: The Chicago Comedy Co., with John Dillon as star in Our Boys . He next joined Haverly's United Mastodon Minstrels as manager, touring the U.S. and Europe. Then for a time he was associated with his brothers Daniel and Gustave in managing the Madison Square Theatre , New York. He began to produce plays by 1886. Frohman's first success as a producer was with Bronson Howard 's play Shenandoah (1889). Frohman founded
615-720: The Church of St Martin-in-the-Fields in London. Frohman was also eulogized by the French Academy of Authors in Paris. A memorial to Frohman is located on The Causeway at Marlow on Thames. The memorial, by the artist Leonard Stanford Merrifield , features a drinking fountain with a sculptured nymph and inscription. Frohman was portrayed by Edwin Maxwell in The Great Ziegfeld (1936) and by Harry Hayden in
656-521: The Cunard Line's RMS Lusitania . Songwriter Jerome Kern was meant to accompany him on the voyage but overslept after being kept up late playing requests at a party. William Gillette was also to have accompanied him, but was forced to fulfill a contracted appearance in Philadelphia. Frohman's rheumatic knee, from a fall three years earlier, had been ailing for most of the voyage, but he
697-905: The Empire Theatre Stock Company to acquire his first Broadway theatre, the Empire , in 1892. The following year, he produced his first Broadway play, Clyde Fitch's Masked Ball . In this piece, Maude Adams first played opposite John Drew , which led to many future successes. Soon Frohman acquired five other New York City theaters, including the Garrick and Criterion Theatres. Working with William Harris and Isaac B. Rich, he became part owner of their theatres in Boston (the Columbia Theatre , Park , Hollis Street , Colonial , Boston and Tremont ). In 1895, he produced
738-503: The New York premiere of The Importance of Being Earnest , by Oscar Wilde . The same year, he produced The Shop Girl . Frohman was known for his ability to develop talent. His stars included William Gillette , John Drew, Jr. , Ethel Barrymore , Billie Burke , E. H. Sothern , Julia Marlowe , Maude Adams , Paul Gilmore , Evelyn Millard , Henry Miller and Walter E. Perkins . In 1896, Frohman, Al Hayman , Abe Erlanger , Mark Klaw , Samuel F. Nixon , and Fred Zimmerman formed
779-455: The Season in 1904, The Beauty of Bath in 1906, The Gay Gordons in 1907, and A Waltz Dream in 1908, among others. He also partnered with other London theatre managers. The system of exchange of successful plays between London and New York was effected largely as a result of his efforts. In 1910, Frohman attempted a repertory scheme of producing plays at the Duke of York's. He advertised
820-605: The Shuberts in early 1910. The Shubert brothers' campaign inspired smaller independent theatres to stand up to the Syndicate, and by April, the New England area had declared complete independence from the Syndicate. The National Theatre Owners Association was founded in May of that year by 1,200 small town theatre owners. This act contributed to the Syndicate's loss of control over American theatre. Charles Frohman Charles Frohman (July 15, 1856 – May 7, 1915)
861-532: The Syndicate, was quoted as saying, "The Theatrical Syndicate has brought order out of chaos, legitimate profit out of ruinous rivalry." Managers, agents, and actors all voiced criticism and opposition to the Syndicate. The management sought to put a stop to the Syndicate at first, but they failed practically as soon as they started. David Belasco would eventually make a working agreement with The Syndicate. Harrison Grey Fiske attempted to oppose The Syndicate but would ultimately achieve nothing. The Syndicate faced
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#1732773129288902-492: The Syndicate, who orchestrated their tour. They would go on to have control of the activities of around 1500 theatres. Through Frohman they would also have control or be actively managing lead actors, such as, William Gillette , John Drew, Annie Russell , Maude Adams , Henry Miller, and many more. In other circles, the Syndicate was praised. The establishment of the Syndicate is described by Daniel Frohman , Charles Frohman's brother. "They determined that its only economic hope
943-588: The big theatres in the South, and Nirdlinger and Zimmerman ran theatres in Ohio . Frohman also controlled a chain of movie theatres that stretched all the way to the West Coast. The men talked on the state of American theatre over lunch. The Theatrical Syndicate had effectively been created by these men. They believed that in order for the Syndicate to flourish, it needed to establish a monopoly. The men had united all of
984-509: The city's theatres. It just had to keep track of theatres on the highways leading into the city. The group would achieve this by 1900. Because to Nixon and Zimmerman's influence, Philadelphia was the first city completely taken over by the Syndicate. The Syndicate started out with 33 first-class theatres. Frohman, Klaw, and Erlanger became the organization's booking agents. Company managers were no longer negotiating with individual theatre managers to plan their tours. Instead, they had to go through
1025-514: The federal government took the Shuberts to court, alleging that their business practices violated antitrust laws. In 1955, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that they were subject to and in violation of antitrust laws , so they sold 12 theatres in six cities and gave up the booking business, which, until then, had been the heart of their enterprise. As of 2024, the Shubert Organization owns 17 Broadway theatres in New York City, including
1066-566: The film Finding Neverland , while Kelsey Grammer played him in the musical of the same name on Broadway in 2015. 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 Jacob Shubert, they dominated
1107-700: The film Till the Clouds Roll By (1946). He was played by William Hootkins in the BBC mini-series The Lost Boys in 1978. He was portrayed by Nehemiah Persoff in Ziegfeld: The Man and His Women also in 1978 on television. In the 1980 film Somewhere in Time , the character William Fawcett Robinson, played by Christopher Plummer , was based on Frohman. In 2004, Dustin Hoffman portrayed him in
1148-410: The idea of purchasing theatres. Rather, they concentrated on gathering actors. The Syndicate did not have enough players or plays to fill all of their theatres during the 1908-09 season. The Shubert brothers took advantage of this by following the Syndicate to specific cities and conducting similar but higher-quality work there. Several well-known performers and playwrights switched from the Syndicate to
1189-463: The key partner in the business, telling of how he built the most successful theatrical empire in history. Stagg characterizes the trio as vulgar and uneducated but acknowledges that they made a personal monopoly amassing millions of profits in the process. Entertainment and popular taste were the goals, rather than the enhancement of the dramatic arts. The Shuberts opened new theatre districts in many major American cities, employing thousands of people over
1230-487: The nursery when the torpedo struck. Frohman then went out onto the deck, where he was joined by actress Rita Jolivet , her brother-in-law George Vernon and Captain Alick Scott. In the final moments, they clasped hands, and Frohman paraphrased his greatest hit, Peter Pan : "Why fear death? It is the most beautiful adventure that life gives us." Jolivet, the only survivor of Frohman's party, was standing with Frohman as
1271-458: The only true threat to the Syndicate. Sam Shubert was regarded as the "chief" of their empire during its early phases. Sam was in charge of theatres in Utica, Rochester, Syracuse, New York City, and Troy by the age of twenty-one. He acquired several more during the next five years, all around the country. His holdings were only surpassed by Syndicate at this point. Sam, on the other hand, was killed in
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1312-961: The others, was not disfigured. It was determined that he was killed by a heavy object falling on him, rather than by drowning. His funeral service was held on May 25 at Temple Emanu-El in New York City, and he was buried in the Union Field Cemetery in Ridgewood, Queens , New York. Services were also arranged by some of his stars in other American cities: by Maude Adams in Los Angeles, by John Drew in San Francisco, by Billie Burke in Tacoma, and by Donald Brian , Joseph Cawthorn and Julia Sanderson in Providence, as well as memorial services at both St Paul's Cathedral and
1353-677: The playwrights he promoted. As a producer, among Frohman's most famous successes was Barrie's Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up , which he premiered at the Duke of York's in December 1904 starring Nina Boucicault , and produced in January 1905 in the U.S. starring Maude Adams . In the early years of the 20th century, Frohman also established a successful partnership with English actor-producer Seymour Hicks to produce musicals and other comedies in London, including Quality Street in 1902, The Admirable Crichton in 1903, The Catch of
1394-473: The ship sank . She later said, "with a tremendous roar a great wave swept along the deck. We were all divided in a moment, and I have not seen any of those brave men alive since." At his death, Frohman was 58. His body later washed ashore below the Old Head of Kinsale, and lay among 147 others awaiting identification, where a rescued American identified him from newspaper photographs. His body, alone among all
1435-479: The theatres they owned or represented into a national network within weeks of their lunch meeting, marking the commencement of the Theatrical Syndicate. Theatre companies in America thrived through touring in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The Syndicate just required key theatres between the big touring cities to gain control of the situation. The Syndicate did not require control of
1476-526: The years. By 1924, they controlled 75 percent of all American theatres, producing 25 percent of all plays. In response, their actors created Actor's Equity as a labor union to counterbalance the Shuberts' power. When the Great Depression caused the bankruptcy of the Shuberts' corporate empire in 1933, their advisors urged them to retire and enjoy their accumulated wealth. Instead, the Shuberts sustained their business by pouring their own money into
1517-479: Was a second explosion, followed by several smaller ones. As passengers began to panic, Frohman stood on the promenade deck, chatting with friends and smoking a cigar. He calmly remarked, "This is going to be a close call." Frohman, with a disabled leg and walking with a cane, could not have jumped from the deck into a lifeboat, so he was trapped. Instead, he and millionaire Alfred Vanderbilt tied lifejackets to "Moses baskets" containing infants who had been asleep in
1558-648: 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 in London and the US. In 1896, Frohman co-founded the Theatrical Syndicate , a nationwide chain of theaters that dominated the American touring company business for more than two decades until the Shubert brothers grew strong enough to end its virtual monopoly. He partnered with English producers, including Seymour Hicks , with whom he produced
1599-635: Was cut short when Nat Goodwin, the rebellion's original leader, was "caught" by the Syndicate. On 24th January 1898, it was announced that Mansfield had reconsidered his position and would perform in Syndicate theatres. Wilson was offered fifty thousand dollars for a half interest in his business, which he accepted. Herne and O'Neill both went into semi-retirement. Fiske would continue her boycott of Syndicate theatres, choosing to perform only in independent theatres, as well as, tents, convention halls, roller skating rinks, and anywhere else that could host an audience. The Shubert brothers , Sam, Lee, and J.J., were
1640-593: Was feeling better on the morning of May 7, a bright, sunny day. He entertained guests in his suite and later at his table. He was regaling them with tales of his life in the theater when, at 2:10 in the afternoon, within fourteen miles of the Old Head of Kinsale , with the coast of Ireland in sight, a torpedo from the German U-boat U-20 struck the Lusitania on the starboard side. Within a minute, there
1681-467: Was in a centralization of booking interests, and they acted promptly on this decision," he says, after addressing the developing turmoil in the theatre sector. Those who praised the Syndicate claimed that by standardizing bookings, they had rescued theatre. Routing of road-based enterprises was regarded as chaotic prior to the founding of the Syndicate. Due to fierce competition, smaller travel companies found themselves in debt. Klaw, who acted as spokesman for