Breen makes directing debut at civic theater
'Postmortem' opens Feb. 22 at Cherokee Civic Theatre
BY LELAND ACKER

Dan "Eddie" Breen, who will direct his first production at the age of 19, poses in front of the stage at the Cherokee Civic Theatre. Mr. Breen's civic theatre resume began with the performance of "Annie, Get Your Gun," and includes several roles, including the villain, "Munro Murgatroyd" in the recent melodrama, "Dirty Work at the Cross Roads. "Postmortem," directed by Mr. Breen, will be performed at 7 p.m. Feb. 22, 23, 29 and March 1 at the Cherokee Civic Theatre, with matinee shows being performed at 2 p.m. Feb. 24 and March 2.

While the play he will direct deals with the aftermath of the death of the main character's fiancée, "Postmortem" will bring new life to the civic theater career of Dan "Eddie" Breen.

Mr. Breen, who is 19 years old, will direct the production, which begins performances Feb. 22 at the Cherokee Civic Theatre. It will be the first production he has directed.

"It's fun," he said. "It's insane pressure."

Among the pressures of directing a civic theater production is the fact that many of the participants are family. Mr. Breen is married to Castanya Breen, who played roles in productions such as "On Golden Pond" and directed "A Little Princess Christmas."

His sister, Jessica Breen Ford, is married to P.O. Ford, a longtime civic theater actor who has played in productions such as "On Golden Pond" and "Dirty Work at the Cross Roads."

"There are so many people I know and love," he said. "I was not able to cast two of my best friends in this show."

Mr. Breen's directing debut is the culmination of a family tradition in the civic theater. His grandfather, Bud Breen, directed several shows at the civic theater while his grandmother, Betty Breen, was the civic theater's president at one time.

"Even when it's not family, it's family," he said. "Camille Jones, my producer, is like another grandmother to me. She knew me when I was very little."

Mr. Breen's acting debut happened when Laura Cunningham was directing "Annie, Get Your Gun."

"She came to me saying she needed another guy for the production," he said. "I agreed, as long as I would not have to sing or dance. The next night, I was a singing and dancing cowboy."

His acting career was a roller-coaster, with directors always seeming to cast him as the love interest of his sister. In "Annie, Get Your Gun," he had to dance with his sister. In "Dirty Work at the Cross Roads," his sister played a young woman who was madly in love with his character, Munro Murgatroyd.

"It's a stretch and is never really convincing," Mr. Breen said of acting with his sister.

He said portraying Murgatroyd was his biggest role while performing at the civic theater.

Mr. Breen said he was introduced to the play, "Postmortem" by Mr. Ford.

"I couldn't get away from it," he said. "It was thrilling and very different from anything we've done here recently."

Mr. Breen described "Postmortem" as a fictional piece based on the life of William Gillette, who co-adapted Sherlock Holmes with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

"The story takes place one year after the death of Gillette's fiancée," he said.

Gillette goes through a Sherlock Holmes process of elimination to find out who murdered his fiancée by throwing a party one year later. It's a cross between Ken Ludwig's usual comedy style and Alfred Hitchcock's style, with the Sherlock Holmes process of elimination added in."

"Postmortem," written by Mr. Ludwig, will be performed at 7 p.m. Feb. 22, 23, 29 and March 1 at the Cherokee Civic Theatre, with matinee performances at 2 p.m. Feb. 24 and March 1.