The Colonial Players earlier this month celebrated another enormously successful season, our 66th go-round, and, as usual, we did it in style. Special thanks to CP Human Resources Director Shirley Panek and her season celebration team—Richard and Amy Atha-Nicholls, Danny Brooks, Carol Cohen, Kathryn Huston, Kaelynn Miller, and Krisztina Vanyi—who organized a splendid party at the Blue Heron Room at Quiet Waters Park, catered by Be My Guest Catering. Surrounded by marquee posters of the shows of the 2014-15 season, the CP crowd—the usual mix of stalwart theater members and on- and off-stage regulars—enjoyed a generous hour of cocktails, conversation, and hors d’oeuvres.

After a lovely buffet dinner, at tables cleverly decorated in keeping with the evening’s “Route 66” theme, songstresses Kaitlin Fish, Erica Miller, and Kaelynn Miller delighted the crowd with an Andrews Sisters style musical mini-revue of Season 66, with lyrics written by Amy Atha-Nicholls and music orchestrated by Richard Atha-Nicholls. CP President Darice Clewell followed with a very touching off-the-cuff speech, tearfully concluding that while Colonial Players now enjoys financial security that is rare among community theaters, due in large part to the 2011bequest from the late Dr. Roland E. Riley, “we have always been rich” in the ways that matter—talent, voluntarism, fellowship, and love of theater.

Stage manager extraordinaire Ernie Morton was honored as the now-traditional “Unsung Hero” of the season, and the cast and crew of The Liar were asked to stand and take bows for winning the coveted Ruby Griffith Award for Overall Production Excellence. Director Steve Tobin’s brief remarks were, of course, in iambic pentameter. Clever fellow, that one.

Also asked to stand and take bows—and accept framed certificates of acknowledgement—were the trusted volunteers who took on the difficult task (over the last three years) of wisely investing what is now known as the “Riley Bequest.” Those volunteers are: Terry Averill, Wes Bedsworth, Kurt Dornheim, Herb Elkin, Mike Gidos, Dianne Hood, Edd Miller, Kaelynn Miller, Jim Robinson, Tom Stuckey, Jo Sullivan, David Thompson, Dick Whaley, Mary Beth Yablonski, and Ted Yablonski.

Click here to take a look at photos of the evening, courtesy of Wes Bedsworth.