Edward Harrigan
Edward Harrigan (1877-1911) was a prominent playwright and performer from New York City, recognized for his contributions to humorous drama in the United States. Born to Irish American parents, he gained fame for his "Mulligan" plays, produced between 1879 and 1884, which centered on the lives of an Irish immigrant couple, Dan and Cordelia Mulligan, set against the backdrop of the diverse Lower East Side of New York City. Harrigan's work featured a varied cast of characters from multiple ethnic backgrounds, including Irish, Jewish, Chinese, black, Italian, and eastern European, often employing slapstick humor that would later influence silent films.
His theatrical journey began as an "Irish singer," where he honed his craft by creating engaging characters that resonated with audiences. Collaborating with Tony Hart, a talented soprano and impersonator, further enriched Harrigan's performances, marking a significant turning point in his career. While his early works focused on humor, as he evolved as a writer, he began to incorporate social commentary addressing issues like alcoholism, gambling, and women's rights—topics that mattered to his working-class viewers. Although Harrigan's portrayals of characters were rooted in stereotypes, they were characterized by compassion and respect, reflecting his deep understanding of the lives and challenges faced by his audience.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Edward Harrigan
Actor
- Born: October 26, 1844
- Birthplace: New York, New York
- Died: 1911
- Place of death: New York, New York
Biography
Born in 1877 in New York City to Irish American parents, Edward Harrigan became one of the best-known writers of humorous drama in the United States, producing numerous sketches for the stage and many full-length plays. He is remembered particularly for his Mulligan plays, produced between 1879 and 1884. These plays recount the experiences of Harrigan’s protagonist, Dan Mulligan, an Irish immigrant, and his wife Cordelia in the multiethnic Lower East Side of New York City during the 1870’s and 1880’s.
The Mulligans interact, usually in humorous, if politically incorrect, ways with a diverse cast of characters from a broad variety of ethnicities: Irish, of course, but also Jewish, Chinese, black, Italian, and eastern European. Audiences reveled in the wit of Harrigan’s presentations, most of which relied heavily upon slapstick techniques that ultimately became staples in silent films, including ceilings that caved in, cigars that exploded, and rampaging animals.
Harrigan’s theatrical career began when he set out as an “Irish singer” in New York’s stage circuit. In this capacity, he was forced to create characters that would delight audiences. He drew on his Irish American roots and his knowledge of ballad singers and street singers to develop ludicrous characters who kept audiences laughing, which was the essential thrust of Harrigan’s early stage presence. His characters spoke with heavy Irish brogues, but as he broadened the scope of his writing he included elements, often exaggerated, of the many dialects heard in New York, where during the 1880’s, more than half of the population consisted of immigrants. Harrigan was a master of humorous dialogue that grew out of his close observation of the people who surrounded him in New York’s Lower East Side.
Early in his career, in 1870, Harrigan had a fortuitous meeting with Anthony Cannon, a fifteen- year-old reform school escapee with an excellent soprano singing voice. Cannon soon joined Harrigan in his stage performances, using the stage name Tony Hart. When Hart became part of Harrigan’s act, he sang and often impersonated women, softening much of the humor at which Harrigan excelled. The onstage pairing of the two marked a turning point in Harrigan’s career and established him as a leading humorist of the New York stage.
Harrigan’s first successful full-length play, Old Lavender, featured an affable waterfront bum with a heavy Irish accent as its protagonist. Elements of this play are suggestive of some of Eugene O’Neill’s early writing with its waterfront settings. As his writing matured, Harrigan, although not abandoning the humor that was his trademark, began to include social commentary in his plays, dealing with such matters as alcoholism, gambling, women’s rights, and tenement life, all of which were important topics to his working-class audiences. Although Harrigan’s characters were stereotypes and would outrage audiences today, his characterizations were never mean or judgmental. He understood, loved, and respected the working-class people who were both his dramatic subjects and his intended audience.