The Contrast
Royall Tyler · Thomas Jefferson McKee
About this book
*The Contrast* is a comedy by Royall Tyler, first performed in 1787 and often cited as the first play written by an American to be professionally staged. It suits readers of early American drama and students of the period's literature and theatre.
Note: The 1996 date and Thomas Jefferson McKee reflect a later edited edition, not the original work.
Royall Tyler
Royall Tyler was an American jurist, teacher and playwright. He was born in Boston, graduated from Harvard University in 1776, and then served in the Massachusetts militia during the American Revolution. He was admitted to the bar in 1780, became a lawyer, and fathered eleven children. In 1801, he was appointed a Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court. He wrote a play, The Contrast, which was produced in 1787 in New York City, shortly after George Washington's inauguration. It is considered the first American comedy. Washington attended the production, which was well-received, and Tyler became a literary celebrity.
Biography from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Portrait: via Wikipedia (see source).
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