David Braham

David Braham (c. 1834 – April 11, 1905) was a London-born composer and book writer whose career became central to the development of American musical theatre in the nineteenth century. He has been referred to as "the American Offenbach."

Braham was born in London around 1834 and showed an early interest in music, initially taking up the harp before switching to the violin after finding the harp too cumbersome to transport by stagecoach. He became a capable violinist and performed in concerts at a young age. He was the uncle of John Joseph Braham Sr. When Braham was approximately fifteen years old, his family relocated to New York City, where he began working as a violinist in the orchestra accompanying the Pony Moore Minstrels. He subsequently played in pit orchestras at various New York venues, led an eighteen-piece orchestra at the New Canterbury concert saloon at 585 Broadway, and also headed a military band.

His Broadway composing career began with Pluto, produced by William Horace Lingard at the Theatre Comique in 1869. In the early 1870s, Braham wrote material for performers including James McKee, child star Annie Yeamans, and P. T. Barnum performer General Tom Thumb.

The defining chapter of Braham's career began in 1873, when he collaborated with Edward Harrigan and Tony Hart on the song The Mulligan Guard, with Braham providing the music and Harrigan the lyrics. The song was performed on July 15, 1873 as part of a vaudeville sketch in which Harrigan and Hart appeared in Civil War-era military costumes. The partnership proved enduring, and while Braham continued to write for other lyricists, his Broadway success derived almost entirely from his work with Harrigan and Hart. In November 1876, Harrigan married Braham's daughter Annie, deepening the personal and professional bond between the two men.

The success of The Mulligan Guard gave rise to a series of burlesques known collectively as the Mulligan plays, which depicted everyday life in New York City and drew on the experiences of Irish American, German American, and African American communities. The series included The Mulligan Guard's Ball, The Mulligan Guard's Picnic, The Mulligan Guard's Chowder, and The Mulligan Guard's Christmas, among others. The final two productions in the series departed from the established naming convention, appearing under the titles Cordelia's Aspirations and Dan's Tribulations. Braham composed all of the songs featured in the Mulligan plays, including The Pitcher of Beer and Hats Off to Me.

The last of the Mulligan plays, Dan's Tribulations, opened on April 7, 1884. Shortly afterward, the New Theatre Comique, where many of the Harrigan and Hart productions had been staged, burned down. Harrigan and Hart dissolved their partnership in 1885, and none of the three collaborators achieved individually the level of success they had reached together. Braham's Broadway credits also include Old Lavender, a work he co-wrote with Harrigan. On May 21, 1906, more than a year after Braham's death, Harrigan produced a revival of Old Lavender. In 1985, the musical Harrigan 'n Hart, which incorporated songs by Harrigan and Braham, was produced at the Longacre Theatre.

David Braham died on April 11, 1905.