Robert Montgomery Bird, a doctor without 'an all-consuming passion for medicine,' hearing of the prize, penned and submitted his first play, the blank verse tragedy Pelopidas, or The Fall of the Polemarchs. A huge success, Metamora inspired Forrest to continue offering the prize. Metamora or, The Last of the Wampanoags, a play by John Augustus Stone won Forrest's inaugural play prize in 1829. He wanted to solidify his fame by acquiring the rights to perform in plays customized to highlight his talents and physical attributes so he devised a contest to encouraged dramaturgs to author new works in return for a cash price. This theatrical piece was written at the request of Edwin Forrest, an American actor seeking to further his career.
It first premiered on September 26, 1831, at the Park Theatre in New York City. The Gladiator is a tragic melodrama in five acts written by Robert Montgomery Bird originally starring Edwin Forrest.
