Contrast, The

Contrast, The (1787), a comedy by Royall Tyler. [John Street Theatre, in repertory.] Mr. Van Rough ( Owen Morris) would have his daughter, Maria ( Mrs. Harper), marry the effete anglophile, Dimple ( Lewis Hallam Jr.), although Dimple openly flirts with Letitia ( Mrs. Kenna) and Charlotte ( Mrs. Morris). Charlotte's brother, Colonel Manly ( John Henry), who had nobly acquitted himself during the Revolution, loves Maria but is reluctant to press what might be an unacceptable suit. When Dimple's gambling losses cost him his fortune, he is prepared to ditch Maria and marry either Letitia or Charlotte, both of whom he believes are much wealthier. Van Rough recognizes that he is well rid of the man and consents to Maria's wedding Manly. A subplot recounts how Dimple's arrogant servant, Jessamy ( Mr. Harper), goads Manly's hickish servant, Jonathan ( Thomas Wignell), into courting the maid, Jenny ( Miss Tuke), but she rejects them both. The first comedy written by an American to be presented by a professional American troupe (the American Company), it was modeled consciously after The School for Scandal and written by Tyler in three weeks. It is remembered largely for introducing Jonathan, the classic stage Yankee. Jonathan proudly denies he is a servant, even though he might polish Manly's boots: “I am a true blue son of liberty, for all that. Father said I should come as Colonel Manly's waiter to see the world, and all that; but no man shall master me: my father has as good a farm as the colonel.” Royall TYLER (1757–1826) was born in Boston, studied law at Harvard, then served in the army before writing The Contrast. Tyler's other works included the comic opera May Day in Town; or, New York in an Uproar (1781), the comedy The Georgia Spec; or, Land in the Moon (1797), and other plays, which have left behind no record of production, including The Farm House; or, the Female Duellists; The Island of Barrataria; The Origin of the Feast of Purim; or, The Destinies of Haman and Mordecai; Joseph and His Brethren; and The Judgment of Solomon. In after years, he moved to Vermont, where he became that state's Chief Justice from 1807 to 1813 and also taught law at the University of Vermont. Although Tyler was clearly one of the most adept of contemporary gentlemen playwrights—The Contrast can still be performed effectively—his importance remains fundamentally historical.