Klaw & Erlanger was the New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 based theatrical production

Theatrical producer

A theatrical producer is the person ultimately responsible for overseeing all aspects of mounting a theatre production. The independent producer will usually be the originator and finder of the script and starts the whole process...

 partnership of entrepreneur A.L. Erlanger

A.L. Erlanger

Abraham Lincoln Erlanger was an American theatrical producer, director, designer, theatre owner, and a leading figure of the Theatrical Syndicate....

 and lawyer

Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

 Marcus Klaw

Marcus Klaw

Marc Alonzo Klaw was an American lawyer, theatrical producer, theatre owner, and a leading figure of the Theatrical Syndicate....

. The two began as a theatrical booking agency in 1886 before expanding into producing plays. In 1896, Klaw & Erlanger joined with Al Hayman

Al Hayman

Al Hayman, also known as Raphael Hayman, was the business partner of the better-known Charles Frohman who together with others established the Theatrical Syndicate in 1896 and as theater impresarios and booking agents helped develop the theater district in New York at the turn of the 20th...

, Charles Frohman

Charles Frohman

Charles Frohman was an American theatrical producer. Frohman was producing plays by 1889 and acquired his first Broadway theatre by 1892. He discovered and promoted many stars of the American theatre....

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

Theatrical Syndicate

-Beginnings:One day, early in the year 1896, six men gathered for lunch at the Holland House in New York City. These men were Charles Frohman, Al Hayman, A.L. Erlanger, Marc Klaw, Samuel F. Nirdlinger, and Frederick Zimmerman...

." This 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.

Klaw & Erlanger controlled most of the theatres in the southern United States and put on their first Broadway

Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

 production of Ben-Hur

Ben-Hur (play)

Ben Hur was an 1899 dramatization of the 1880 novel Ben Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace. It was dramatized by William W. Young and produced by Marc Klaw and A. L. Erlanger. Inspired by the popular equestrian dramas of nineteenth century London, the production was notable for its elaborate...

in November of 1899. Between then and September 1924, they would produce 238 Broadway plays plus hundreds more at theatres they either owned or leased around the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. As well, their partnership built a number of important theaters including New York City's famous New Amsterdam Theatre

New Amsterdam Theatre

The New Amsterdam Theatre is a Broadway theater located at 214 West 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues in the Theatre District of Manhattan, New York City, off of Times Square...

 in 1903.

They were also involved in film production for some of their plays that were adapted to the screen.