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MARCH 2017 • ALAMO TODAY • PAGE 1
MARCH 2017
THE STORMS OF 1861-1862 TRANSFORMED CURTAIN UP! LIGHT THE LIGHTS : RPE PRESENTS THE MAGIC OF BROADWAY THE SAN RAMON VALLEY By Beverly Lane
One storm after another is sweeping through California this year. But for historians, the storms of 1861 and 1862 were far more impressive and devastating. Some have called them Megastorms. Once farmers recovered after losing so many cattle, they began to focus on grain and hay-growing instead of the grazing which had been dominant for decades. A 43-day storm which began in December of 1861 turned the Central Valley and Southern California into inland seas and killed thousands of people, according to a Scientific American article in 2013. Sixty-six inches of rain fell in Los Angeles that year. The Sierras had snow levels from 10 to 15 feet followed by warm rainfall, sending water into rivers in unprecedented levels. The water rose to 30 feet in some areas, covering the new telegraph poles which stretched from Sacramento to New York. All of Sacramento was entirely under 10 feet of brown water that January. William Brewer, who was surveying California, wrote that in January of 1862: “thousands of farms are entirely under water – cattle starving and drowning. All the roads in the middle of the state are impassable; so all mails are cut off.” One quarter of the state’s 800,000 cattle drowned in the flood. UC Berkeley Professor B. Lynn Ingram wrote, “Downstream of Sacramento, towns and villages throughout the eastern San Francisco Bay Area were struggling
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Rancho Romero 5th grade Cub Scouts recently completed their Arrow of Light award and have graduated on to Boy Scouts. Back Row: Owan Boynton-Westney, Cole Nettleton, Harry Hayden, Tyler Singer, Bottom Row: Drew Crissman, Max Steele, Alex Castellon
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By Jody Morgan
Role Players Ensemble Theatre (RPE) presents a one night only opportunity to discover the secrets that have kept audiences endlessly entertained by the best of Broadway’s musicals. On March 18th, Curtain Up! Light the Lights gives patrons the chance to support Danville’s award-winning theater company while enjoying an evening of fine food, wine, and performance. In addition to staging four outstanding plays each
RPE Board L to R Sharon Ritchey, Roz Hirsch, Evelyn Boetes, Marian Bliss, Joyce Michalczyk, Martin Silverman, Eric Fraisher Hayes, seated President Mary Camezon, Not pictured: Sharon Sprecher, Mark Roseman (photo courtesy of Wendy Cooper, RPE)
season, RPE introduces local high school students to the skills required for bringing scripts to life through internships and classroom programs. Master classes for RPE donors and early subscribers as well as scriptin-hand performances open to the public extend the opportunity to learn how plays are put together to adult theater enthusiasts. Founded in 1983 by a group of Danville residents, RPE is a non-profit organization dedicated to producing plays that are both entertaining and enlightening. Now in his seventh season as Artistic Director, Eric Fraisher Hayes is pleased by audience response to thought-provocative material. Although Incident at Vichy did not draw record-breaking crowds, those who attended the 2012 performances continually remark about the powerful impact of that experience. Narrowing the selection of scripts down to the ideal balance for each season is a difficult task. RPE Marketing Director Martin Silverman explains, “Role Players is very fortunate to have Eric as our Artistic Director. He has a deep and loving Volume XVII - Number 3 knowledge of theatre content, perfor3000F Danville Blvd. #117, mance and production, which he uses Alamo, CA 94507 to propose plays that span the breadth Telephone (925) 405-NEWS, 405-6397 of the theatre experience, from lesser Fax (925) 406-0547 known but excellent plays that make Alisa Corstorphine ~ Publisher audiences think about the tough quesEditor@yourmonthlypaper.com tions in life, to charming and even Sharon Burke ~ Writer raucous comedies, to well-known The opinions expressed herein belong to the writers, and do not necessarily reflect that of Alamo Today. Alamo Today crowd pleasers.” is not responsible for the content of any of the advertising
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