I went to visit this beautiful place in September 2003, a few days after my sisters funeral up in Sonoma County. It was a sad time but I wanted to see where one of my literary heroes wrote his enduring crown jewel, Long Days Journey Into Night, before I made my way back East, near Boston, and a reconfigured world without my beloved younger sister. I am glad I did. My wife accompanied me on the drive over the mountains from SF and the tour was as you wrote, informative and stimulating, with conversations with the guide about O’Neill’s life and art, a welcome respite from the heavy emotions of my loss. I returned to the subject of my sister in my own writing, published in a national newspaper several years later, upon the sudden death of a dramatic hero of mine, Philip Seymour Hoffman, the actor who played Edmund in a Broadway production that I saw not long after my visit to Tao House. I realize this a long way around to say thank you for writing so clearly and affectionately about your visit and about this celebrated playwright who was in the rarest of stations: to give his entire life for his art.
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Aaah, for the return to a time when playwrights were celebrities. The only Pulitzer winner in the last few years who might be recognized in the street is Lin Manuel Miranda. Annie Baker or Ayad Akhtar? Unlikely. Which is a shame. Because theater and playwrights have as much to say today as they did in O’Neill’s heyday.
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Dear Ms. Lanzendorfer,
Your article on Tao House and its relationship with O’Neill was
a good read, for which I offer thanks.
In the winter of 1976 Travis Bogard, an O’Neill scholar from Berkeley saw my Hanover College (IN) Theatre production of The Hairy Ape in a rehearsal. Based on his impressions he arranged for us to bring the finished staging to Tao House in the following summer. At that time some of O’Neill’s shorter plays had been staged at Tao House (Hughie, perhaps with Jason Robards) but I was told that my staging of The Hairy Ape was the first full length O’Neill play to be produced on site.
Had I an email address for you I could attach a photo of the cast showing myself (director/designer), my wife, Barbara, who ran sound, and the Hanover College Theatre student cast, as well as images from the Tao House program. I think you might find it interesting.
Again, thanks for an article that brought back grand memories from back in the day when I was working at full steam making theatre art.
Tom Evans
[email protected]
159 Fisher Street,
Hanover, IN 47243
23 West 73rd
Apt. 307A
New York, NY 10023
cell: 443 845 0082
From The New York Times:
Discovering Eugene O’Neill’s San Francisco
In Northern California, the playwright found solace from a past that haunted him, and wrote his greatest works.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/03/travel/eugene-oneill-in-california.html
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Eugene O'Neill died in Boston, MA as per Wiki. He lived in the suburbs that I simply adore, Danville. I always thought he lived in Tao house life long.
The author should have mentioned about his daughter and Charlie Chaplin.
I always felt so blessed to live near this great playwright's former home.
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Somehow, despite living in San Francisco for nearly forty years, I never knew of this connection between the playwright and the City. O’Neill is barely present and scarcely celebrated in the Bay Area, unlike London, Hammett or Ginsberg. I’ve been to Danville several times without making the connection. So I appreciate the light shed by this article. One complaint: I would hardly characterize the iconic San Francisco emporium Gump’s as a mere “furniture store.” It was a wonderland of exotic gift items and objets d’art — and, tragically, is now in liquidation after 157 years.
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@Kenover OMG! Not Gump's?!? Thanks for mentioning this. I went online and ordered just to have something to remember this amazing store by.
Thank you, Joy. I enjoyed your research and article. I grew up in Danville and now have Tao House on my bucket list. Thanks to your readers as well for their insights. Growing up Elliot’s was a dark, depressing place—so fitting of O’Neill’s themes.
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Fascinating, and wonderfully evocative of the Northern California that cast a spell over the O’Neills. But to call the storied Gump’s a “furniture store” is like calling Tiffany & Co. a trinket shop.
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News to Ibsen and Chekhov, it would seem: "O'Neill changed playwriting from sentimental entertainment to a serious art form."
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@Alice's Restaurant Yes! And even closer to home, the great Susan Glaspell! In addition to writing her masterpiece, "Trifles," she was crucial as an early supporter of O'Neill.
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O’Neill, couldn’t afford to live here now. Sadly, most of the artists who made this city so interesting have left, replaced by boring tech types who have their noses buried in their I-Phone screens.
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Anyone who loves theatre or writing will be inspired by seeing O'Neill's two desks in his writing room. To think that when he got frustrated writing _A Long Day's Journey Into Night_ , he could simply turn his chair and continue to work on _Moon for the Misbegotten_ encourages all theatre workers and writers to go deep and resist running away from the challenges of art. If only he had the same sympathy for his daughter. Thank you so much for this marvelous article.
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Great article. Don't be put off by O'Neill's reaction to Grace Cathedral though. It's one of the jewels of Nob Hill. If you're visiting the famous old hotels on California Street do stop by the Cathedral.
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None of this, I knew. And despite having lived in San Francisco for 50 plus years, never connected O'Neil with the city or area. Good reporting and a welcome break from "the news".
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Interesting article. I've never heard about O'Neil's connection w Grace Cathedral.
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Our docent said that O'Neill rented a house in Lafayette while the Tao house was being built. I'd love to know where.
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@wsanders
O'Neill lived in the Wood House at 5 Juniper Drive in Lafayette while waiting for Tao house to be built.
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Wonderful addition to the trove of commentary on this talented writer. Nicely done.
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Interesting. My childhood years were spent in neighboring Alamo (even tinier hamlet than Danville when I lived there in the 50's and early 60's) and never knew O'Neill, or anyone of any consequence for that matter, had lived in the area. Then again, we moved away when I was 14 and I knew nothing of O'Neill at that age.
Thanks for the story.
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Good article..
Danville is now one of the toniest addresses in the SF Bay Area..
Average temp in the summer 99 degrees..
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I’m a relatively new resident in Danville but was aware of O’Neil’s connections. Sad about the ending of his story but pleased to learn more about it by exploring his former home and works. Thanks for publishing!
2
Visiting Tao House and seeing O'Neill's two desks is deeply inspiring to anyone who loves theatre. To imagine him getting frustrated writing _Long Day's Journey Into Night_ and so turning around his chair and digging into _Moon for the Misbegotten_ inspires all theatre workers and all writers to never give up. Thanks for sharing the deep pleasures of O'Neill's California.
3
The NYT, unlike so many web sites I read daily, should consider adding the ability of having several type point sizes for readers who have trouble reading the current font. Most sites have three sized letter A at the top for readers.
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@William Crawford
I, like you, love large fonts.
The best way to get them is to hit
Select All + Copy.
Then paste the results into a Word document with large fonts.
Cheers.
3
@William Crawford
Please increase the font size, from the Menu above the browser. Hope this helps.
1
What a thoughtful and well-researched story - but I wish it'd been more thoroughly proofread for grammar, especially considering its subject. "Although they’d been together for 11 years, the hotel marked a hopeful moment for the couple..."
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awfully romantic article with no mention of the children he abandoned...
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My grandfather was a carpenter living in Oakland during the depression and got hired to help build Tao House. I've taken my son there to see what his great grandfather helped build.
I didn't hear much about my grandfather's experience there, but one family story is that around Christmas O'Neill gave the workers a signed copy of a collection of his plays. My grandfather had hoped for something useful like money, and was pretty enraged.
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@Avid Reader
Hope it’s still in the family. It could bring a few dollars today.
A beautiful site, with plenty of memorabilia, though a lot of the originals reside with the O'Neill collection at Yale. Tranquil, yet one can barely imagine how much quieter and remote it must have been half a century ago. Nice swimming pool too, and not a lot of visitors either.
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@Dev
Question for Joy Lanzendorfer: was the pool there when O'Neill lived there? If so, seems like an oversight (to me) not to mention.
2
Joy Lanzendorfer has written a very thoughtful piece about Eugene O’Neill and Carlotta Monterey, focusing on their time in and around San Francisco. Many people think O’Neill’s talent was sapped by heavy drinking, but Lanzendorfer is probably right that heavy memories played a bigger role.
It is not clear from Ms. Lanzendorfer’s short essay whether the time spent at Tao House was a happy period for the couple. Perhaps after sobriety O’Neill never allowed himself to be completely happy for an extended period. He lacked his father’s selfishness.
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I wept throughout Long Day's Journey into Night." It helped me understand my mother and filled in a lot of holes, but I was devastated the way only a great work of art can devastate. It is still rare when real work is funded and produced, leading me to believe that it is not a lack of available talent, but a lack of personal insight by funders that leads to this disconnect.
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It’s such a fine relief to read something interesting, intelligent, and new this evening. I long for more of these sorts of stories in the midst of chaos! Thanks. I’ll be rereading O’Neill and I am interested in visiting now too!
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It is simply idyllic. It transported me to good old times although I was really sad to know of the struggle of the playwright.
3
Thank you for this amazing glimpse into Eugene O'Neill's life, particularly his time in his beloved California. Well done!
3
Great article about making art inspired by life, and the environment that fosters it.
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Years ago, I drove my family from San Francisco to Danville on a very hot day so that my father, a big O'Neill fan, could tour Tao House. A park ranger picked us up at a park-and-ride lot, and we were the only group that day after another group backed out. We had debated whether or not to go, but all of us were glad we did.
8
Thanks so much for this article! I live in San Francisco but never heard of the O'Neills time here... I will definitely plan to visit Tao House in Danville....
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@sfdphd
Same!
@sfdphd
It's well worth the visit. In addition to the guided tours (res. req.) there are several routes to reach the property on trails through Las Trampas Reg. Park and one can take self-guided tours on Saturdays.
2