St. James Theatre

The Erlanger Theater was built as a self-monument (on the site of the original Sardi's restaurant) to producer-impressario-entrepeneur Abraham Erlanger who's fortunes waxed then waned with that of the Theatrical Syndicate in which he was a main player. The St James was built a bit too late, 1927, to take full advantage of the economic recovery of the Roaring '20s. Upon Erlanger's death in 1930, control of the theater was assumed by the Astor descendants (who still owned the land underneath the Erlanger and most other theaters west of Broadway), and the name was changed to the St James

The theater was purchased by the Shuberts (possibly in the late '30s?), a bit of irony given they were instrumental in breaking the hold of the Theatrical Syndicate, and therefore Erlanger's hold on the road show circuit. A bigger bit of irony ensued when, in a 1957 federal judgement, the now Shubert-monopoly was broken; the sale of the St James to the Jujamcyn Organization was one of the results of the judgement

The premiere production at the Erlanger Theater was The Merry Malones on September 25, 1927. Given some years of data we were unable to find, it is possible that the St James was not in legitimate use from Erlanger's death in 1930 until the Shubert purchase in (?1937?), which would be consistent with that of many other Broadway houses. Beginning in the early '40s the St James became a very successful musical house, with many long-running shows on its boards