riley and nye made arrangements with james pond to do two national tours during 1888 and 1889. they were popular and generally sold out, with hundreds having to be turned away. the shows were usually forty-five minutes to an hour long and featured riley reading often humorous poetry interspersed by stories and jokes from nye. the shows were informal, and the two men adjusted their performances based on their audiences' reactions. riley memorized forty of his poems for the shows to add to his own versatility. many prominent literary and theatrical people attended the shows. at a new york city show in march 1888, augustin daly was so enthralled by it he insisted on hosting the two men at a banquet with several leading broadway theater actors.