The Basilica Recreation Centre - Before and After----------------------------------------------------------- MINSTREL SHOW Another very popular event was the annual Holy Name Minstrel Show. This production was put on for three sell-out evenings. It had a cast of approximately 70 people. The main attraction was four men who blackened their faces and acted as "black end men". The show lasted over two hours with a short intermission. The last minstrel show with black end men was in 1955. We now have a similar program, except that the end men are not black, and the show is called the Irish Minstrel Show. When I asked Elmer Gallant , who was one of the best end men, how the black population in Charlottetown felt about having end men dressed up as black men, his reply was that Charlie Ryan , a prominent member of the black community, was one of the greatest fans of the show and always had a front row seat. Ivan Dowling gave me a picture of the 1933 cast of the minstrel show. It is interesting to note that there were no women in the cast. The local newspaper report of the 1948 edition of The Merry Minstrels had high praise for its performance: "The Holy Name Society of St. Dunstan's Basilica went over the top as far as first class entertainment is concerned, with their presentation 'The Merry Minstrels' which was staged at the Holy Name Hall last evening. "The show, which started with a bang from the opening chorus on, kept the crowd, literally packed the hall to the doors, in a continual uproar of mirth and merriment. Presenting their programme of 'Black Boy' comedy, singing, dancing and instrumental entertainment in such a rapid-fire manner that never allowed a dull moment, they received an ovation of warm and hearty applause from a truly appreciative audience. "Every member of the cast, from the large mixed chorus to the Interlocutor and black-faced End Men, went through their performances in a manner which made the show a success from start to finish, and the cast and their directors, Messrs. Frank O' Neil and Austin Connolly are to be commended for their part in putting on such a splendid evening's entertainment. 18