The Theatrical Syndicate

Theatrical Syndicate, The [also known as The Theatrical Trust].Formed in 1895 at a secret meeting which included A. L. Erlanger, Charles Frohman, William Harris, Al Hayman, Marc Klaw, Samuel F. Nixon‐Nirdlinger, and Fred Zimmerman, its ostensible purpose was to bring order to the chaotic booking practices then prevalent in the theatre. Within a short time, however, the group monopolized virtually all major American playhouses and dictated terms to producers, actors, and other theatrical figures. A few stalwart opponents, notably Mr. and Mrs. Fiske and Sarah Bernhardt, bucked the group and were often reduced to playing in rundown auditoriums or in tents. David Belasco later joined the Trust's adversaries. However, despite often violent opposition in the national press, the group maintained a practical stranglehold on the American theatre until its monopoly was broken by the organization built by the Shubert brothers in the early years of the 20th century. By the time of World War I, the Shuberts had supplanted the Syndicate as the dominant force in American theatre, forming a mini‐monopoly of their own.