“If they say the moon is blue, We must believe that it is true.”
Old English Proverb, 1528According to the astronomical calendar, the next occurrence of a celestial blue moon will be in June 2007 – except in Johnson City, where this fall The Blue Moon Theatre will rise.
“There’s so much talent in the area,” Moira Murphy said, “and the downtown area is changing and it’s a good time to do this.”
Murphy, the associate artistic director of the theatre, and her fianc, Edward Breese, artistic director of the theatre, are converting the old Johnson City Furniture Co. building located at 133 W. Main St., into a 168-seat, Art Deco with a twist, proscenium theatre.
“We chose the name Blue Moon,” Murphy said, “because it was old-fashioned – unique.”
Breese and Murphy have blueprints which show that the first floor is 8,000 square feet and will be home to the theatre.
“The auditorium,” Murphy said, “will be on the right side after you enter the theatre.”
The upstairs consists of 5,000 square feet, “which will eventually,” Murphy said, “be their home.”
“We are strong supporters of downtown Johnson City,” she said, “and we hope to be a part of it. Ed is on the board of the Downtown Neighborhood Association, and they have just been super supportive of the theatre, and are excited and anxious for it to happen.”
Breese, a New York native who grew up in this area, is a 1996 graduate of ETSU where he majored in theatre, and Murphy is a graduate of Suffolk College in New York, where she earned her degree in performing arts drama.
While touring professionally Murphy met her fianc, and she said that opening a theatre was something they always wanted to do, and Johnson City was the ideal location to make it happen.
“We will be searching for local actors,” Murphy said, “and will definitely utilize the theatre division of ETSU. We will also be looking at outside actors, along with some of our friends.”
Assisting with the theatre project are two other New York natives, Patrick and Erica Gerrity, technical directors of the theatre.
“Ed’s parents own the building, which was purchased from First Presbyterian Church,” Murphy said, “and the company name is CRC Breese LLC.
“The theatre will be family-oriented and will offer everything from dramas to musicals.”
Breese and Murphy are working daily to ensure that The Blue Moon Theatre is their future and that it will be viewed as an artistic achievement for the future of downtown Johnson City and its revitalization program.
“The contractors have begun working,” Murphy said, “and we hope to be open sometime within the next six to eight months.”
For more information, e-mail Breese or Murphy at thebluemoontheatre@adelphia.net.
While they’re keeping the opening night performance a secret for now, the one thing that isn’t a secret is the wedding date of Breese and Murphy. “In three months,” Murphy said, “July 9.”

“All the world’s a stage,
And all men and women merely players,”
William Shakespeare
As You Like It (II, vii, 139-140)

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