The Town Council at its meeting Tuesday approved an agreement for Danville to take over responsibility for artwork commemorating playwright Eugene O’Neill after it is installed in the Front Street Park across from the library.
The Eugene O’Neill Foundation, which is responsible for the artwork until then, also asked the town to move the commemoration closer to the street, in the planter area of the park.
“Originally it was going against the trees, but we want to move it out to the color spot because it will show better there,” said Claudia Nemir, president of the foundation, earlier this week.
The artwork has eight pedestals with open books or playbills, each depicting something about O’Neill’s life or plays written while he lived at Tao House in the Danville hills. “It’s designed to be a contemplative kind of walkway,” said Nemir. “You’ll read and experience part of his life.”
There will also be a centerpiece, about 12 feet tall, called a “veil,” with see-through words from “A Long Day’s Journey into the Night.”
Members of the O’Neill Foundation wanted a commemoration that is more accessible than the Tao House, which is part of the U.S. National Park Service and requires reservations. Nemir said that a year ago January, Broadway producer Paul Libin was in town to receive an award from the foundation for his O’Neill productions and noted there was no commemoration for the playwright in town. “He kind of challenged us,” recalled Nemir. “Councilman Newell Arnerich was mayor at the time and he looked around and said, ‘Why haven’t we done something?'”
“At that point we came into focus and decided it was time to do something,” continued Nemir. “It was also a combination of the right board people.”
The board contacted Michael Manwaring, an artist from San Anselmo, and discussions on the artwork began. “His insight has been so great,” said Nemir. “We wanted something literary.”
Funds for the $100,000 project were raised in a four-month period, said Nemir, thanks to a generous starting gift from someone who prefers to remain anonymous. “Then we started working with the town staff,” she recalled, to find the right place for the artwork.
“That little park is a gem,” said Nemir. “For O’Neill’s work, which is very cerebral, you have to sort of step aside, walk down the little walkway, and realize this person lived right here.”
In the agreement signed Tuesday night, the town agreed that the O’Neill Foundation will have priority for using the location.
The artwork will be dedicated at 11:30 a.m., Wednesday, Sept. 28, to kick off the 2005 Eugene O’Neill Festival.
