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September 2013 Eugene O’Neill Double-Header Marks 125th Anniversary of Playwright’s Birth
Serving Danville The Automobile as Art: Blackhawk Museum Marks a Quarter Century of Quality Performance By Jody Morgan
By Jody Morgan
Throughout September, the Eugene O’Neill Foundation, Tao House, and Role Players Ensemble are celebrating the 125th anniversary of the birth of America’s foremost playwright. The 14th annual Eugene O’Neill Festival includes the presentation of two O’Neill plays offering a rare opportunity to experience the evolution of the author’s genius. The only American playwright to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, O’Neill wrote some of his most memorable scenes in his Danville study at Tao House. Anna Christie, the play that brought O’Neill the second of his four Pulitzer Prizes, opens at the Village Theater in Danville on September 6th and runs through September 21st. Chris Christophersen, his earlier drama from which O’Neill created the prize-winning script, will be performed in the barn at Tao House September 26th-29th. Role Players and the O’Neill Foundation are presenting the two plays with the same cast to emphasize the impact O’Neill’s insightful revision of his own production had on contemporary audiences. As O’Neill rewrote the roles he originally created in Chris Christophersen, the playwright boldly moved from staging the simplistic interaction of one-dimensional stock characters theatergoers expected in popular 19th century melodrama to confronting them with individuals drawn from the agonizing intricacy of real life. O’Neill’s more complex psychological development of character was received with immediate
Recognized as one of the top car collections in the world, the Blackhawk Automotive Museum (the Museum) is celebrating its 25th year of showcasing the sculptural beauty of remarkable vehicles. Many of the models on display are unique – designed to satisfy the specific desires of a connoisseur. Others represent limited editions. Repeat visitors to the two-floor gallery re-connect with favorite models with fresh insight as the collection regularly rotates to highlight different aspects of the significance of each car. New acquisitions also entice devotees to return often. Whether purchased for the collection or loaned to the Museum by an owner eager to share an incomparable possession, each vehicle on display dramatizes the automobile as a compelling expression of art.
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New Fire Chief Starts with an Impact By Sharon Burke
I recently had the opportunity to meet and interview SRV Fire's new Chief, Paige Meyer, and I am happy to report to you that the San Ramon Valley is in good hands with the new district leader. You could say Chief Meyer has had a trial by fire since starting work on March 18 of this year. He served most recently as Fire Chief of the City of Vallejo. Having spent 15 years working for a financially challenged city, his highest priority was to place SRV Fire on a sound financial footing for the future. Prior to his arrival, the district was literally at the edge of a fiscal cliff brought on by increased pension and health care costs and decreasing property tax revenues. In a whirlwind five months on the job, Meyer’s signature achievement has been the negotiation of a new union contract with significant concessions from employees. He SRV Fire Chief Paige Meyer
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For 25 years, the Museum has displayed the full-range of collectible cars from model T's to classics like this Cadillac Ghia. (Photo courtesy of Blackhawk Museum)
Collecting classic cars was not on Blackhawk developer Ken Behring’s agenda when he sought a vintage Rolls-Royce shortly after opening the Blackhawk Country Club in 1980. Anxious to add one more touch of class to a venue that had already been written up in Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous as one of the best clubs in the nation, Behring decided to buy a 1940s Rolls to offer as a limousine for special events. He contacted Arizona dealer Don Williams about a Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith he had for sale. Not long thereafter, Williams, a life-long car enthusiast, had Behring hooked. Soon Williams became a Danville resident working with Behring on creating a museum to house the growing collection they were purchasing around the world. Walking together down a street in Paris, Volume IV - Number 11 Williams recalls a moment where Behring 3000F Danville Blvd. #117, Alamo, CA 94507 and he spotted a diamond illuminated by four (925) 405-6397 pin lights in a shop window. For Williams, Fax (925) 406-0547 President of the Blackhawk Museum since its inception, that moment sparked a key element Alisa Corstorphine ~ Publisher See Chief continued on page 20 of the Museum’s magic: the lighting. Instead editor@ yourmonthlypaper.com of wasting watts on walls, the Museum focuses PRSRT STD energy on the automotive gems displayed. The opinions expressed herein belong U.S. Postage PAID Many of the models were designed for a to the writers, and do not necessarily that of Danville Today News. Permit 263 specific celebrity. Extensive information on reflectDanville Today News is not Alamo CA each exhibit often includes the original price responsible for the content of any of the advertising herein, nor does ECRWSS publication imply endorsement.
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