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Royall TylerRoyall Tyler is an American playwrite who wrote The Contrast in 1787. Tyler had been a Major in the Massachusetts militia who happened to be sent to New York in 1787 to discuss Shays Rebellion. It is unknown whether he carried The Contrast with him or whether he wrote it during his stay but the play was first performed on April 16, just a little over a month since Tylers arrival in the city. The play was an instant success and earned Leacock the position of an up and coming writer. It has sometimes been called the first American Play but that is not exactly the case. The Contrast is, however, the first play by a native of the American colonies to be professionally produced, but that is not what makes it unique. It marks the first appearance of the archetypal character of Jonathan the true born Yankee son of liberty. The character opposite Jonathan is Billy Dimple, a caricature of an inept British fop. The play contrasts the inherent goodness of American society with that of the corrupt British system and is representative of the effects that the propagandist theatre of the revolution had on American playwrights. Jonathan and Billy become stock characters that reappear in countless American works. It might even be possible to still find essences of these characters in contemporary theatre. Unfortunately, not too much is known about Tylers other works as only fragments and records of their performances remain.
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