First performed in New York in 1787, The Contrast holds a special place in American theatre history as the first professionally produced play by a native-born American. Royall Tyler’s comedy contrasts the manners of the new republic — honest, plain-spoken — with the affected Anglophilia of those who ape European fashions, embodied in the foppish Dimple and the upright Colonel Manly.
A fascinating cultural document as well as an entertaining comedy, The Contrast is essential reading for anyone interested in early American literature. This free EPUB is cleanly formatted for any e-reader.