Louis Riel was hanged in Regina on 16 November 1885. Within days, O.
B. Sheppard, manager of the Toronto Grand Opera House, entered into a contract
with American playwright Clay M. Greene to write, cast and produce a dramatic
composition founded upon the life and death of Louis Riel. Moving quickly,
Greene wrote the Idyllic and Poetic Historical Play Louis Riel, or, The
Northwest Rebellion, hired “a Majestic Galaxy of New York Actors,” organized
costumes and sets in Toronto, and opened “The greatest play of the century!”
with “The strongest company of two centuries!” in London, Ontario, on 1
January 1886. Unfortunately, the company’s tour through the Ontario towns
of London, Toronto, Hamilton, Chatham, Woodstock, etc. proved financially
unsuccessful – in Woodstock, they “played to $20.50, and the local manager
refused to pay us our share of even that beggarly amount.” Using local
newspaper accounts and Greene’s personal account of the tour (which he
entitled “A Retrospective Nightmare”), the proposed paper will contrast
the reception of the company during its tour of Southern Ontario between
1 January and 16 January with its reception in Montreal during the week
of January 18-23, 1886.
05/26: 915