A graduate of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York, Paul Riopelle has appeared in lead roles Off-Broadway, throughout New York, and on a Broadway National Tour. In 2005, he served as proud stand-in for his hero, Dustin Hoffman, on the film Stranger Than Fiction.
Regionally, Paul has worked with nearly a dozen Shakespeare theatres nationwide from New York to Chicago to Utah, in such lead roles as Romeo, Richard III, Henry V, Prince Hal, Benedick, Jaques, and two turns in the title role of Hamlet. In 2013, he was honored with the state-wide Oscar Wilde Award for Best Shakespearean Performance in the state of Michigan for his turn as Marc Antony in Antony and Cleopatra. Favorite contemporary credits include John Proctor in The Crucible and Algernon in The Importance of Being Earnest.
Paul first fell in love with Salem on a tourist trip to the city in 2001, and returned to vacation there nearly every year afterwards. His growing affection for the town, coupled with his deep love for the work of author Nathaniel Hawthorne led him to write a one-man biographical show for The House of the Seven Gables called Meet Nathaniel Hawthorne. The show was presented at the Gables for two extended runs in 2018, and toured to local schools and other museums, including Hawthorne’s former homes, the Wayside and the Old Manse in Concord.
Following this run, Paul was increasingly invited back to the Gables to portray Hawthorne at events, including a live production of The Scarlet Letter, and its yearly celebration on the 4th of July, which also happens to be Hawthorne’s birthday. In 2023, Paul premiered a new show for the Halloween season, Haunted Fables from the Gables, which finds Hawthorne performing his own horror tales, as well as those of fellow Dark Romantic, Edgar Allan Poe.
