David Braham

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

David Braham (c.1834 – April 11, 1905) was a London-born musical theatre composer, best known for his work with his son-in-law Edward Harrigan and Tony Hart. He was called “the American Offenbach.”

Braham was born in London around 1834. He dreamed of becoming a professional musician and began by studying the harp, but he later switched to the violin because the harp was hard to transport on a stagecoach. He grew into a skilled violinist and performed in concerts from a young age. The Braham family later moved to New York City when David was about 15.

In New York, Braham worked as a violinist in the Pony Moore Minstrels’ orchestra, played in various pit orchestras, led an 18-piece orchestra at the New Canterbury concert saloon, and led a military band.

The first Broadway musical to feature his music was Pluto, produced in 1869. He continued to write music in the early 1870s for performers like James McKee, Annie Yeamans, and General Tom Thumb. In 1873, Braham collaborated with Harrigan and Hart on the song The Mulligan Guard (music by Braham, lyrics by Harrigan). This collaboration started a long relationship with Harrigan and Hart and helped make Braham’s Broadway success largely connected to them. In November 1876, Harrigan married Braham’s daughter Annie.

The Mulligan Guard sparked a series of burlesques about New York City life known as the Mulligan plays. They appealed to a wide audience, including Irish, German, and African American communities. The first was The Mulligan Guard’s Ball, followed by The Mulligan Guard’s Picnic, The Mulligan Guard’s Chowder, The Mulligan Guard’s Christmas, and later Cordelia’s Aspirations and Dan’s Tribulations. Braham wrote songs for these shows, such as The Pitcher of Beer and Hats Off to Me. The last Mulligan play was Dan’s Tribulations, produced on April 7, 1884. Shortly after, the New Theatre Comique burned down.

In 1885, Harrigan and Hart separated, and neither they nor Braham reached the same level of success they had achieved together. David Braham died in 1905. A year later, Harrigan revived Old Lavender, a musical he and Braham had written. In 1985, Harrigan ’n Hart was produced at the Longacre Theatre, featuring songs by Harrigan and Braham.