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From "Urinetown the Musical" to "Pajama Game" and "Godspell," the Damascus Theatre Company has introduced many residents to musical theater.

In its 25-year history, the community theater company has mounted original productions, children's shows and classic musical comedies and along the way it has created a theater family, said Ellie Swink of Damascus, a long-time member of the group.

This weekend, the company will celebrate its quarter-century anniversary with "Silver Anniversary of Song," that will feature the stars of some of its best productions reprising songs from the shows.

"It's great to hear people sing the songs they did 14 or 15 years ago and new people," said Stephanie Miller of Gaithersburg.

Miller, 28, will reprise a song she performed with the company when she was in high school from "How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying." She returned to the area in August and reconnected with the Damascus Theatre Company.

Miller was about 7 years old when her parents took her to see the company's production of "The Music Man."

Although she took dance classes and participated in church and school productions, she did not audition for the company until she was 14 and the company was staging "Fiddler on the Roof."

She won the part of the fiddler because director Shelly Horn envisioned the fiddler as a dancing role. Miller was able to choreograph her performance as well as that of others.

When she went to college, "I knew I wanted to do something in the arts and Damascus Theatre Company helped give me confidence," Miller said.

In addition to performing in this weekend's show, Miller is choreographing the spring production, "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change," which will be performed at the Gaithersburg Arts Barn in February.

By day, Miller teaches music at Clopper Mill Elementary School in Germantown.

The Damascus Theatre Company has inspired several performers to pursue careers related to music or theater.

Brad Nacht has been an understudy in "The Producers" on Broadway and took on a role with the traveling company. His sister Allison is performing on cruise ships. Megan May performs with Doc Scanlon's band.

And Celia Blitzer, 27, of Rockville, has returned to the area to direct the spring show.

Blitzer majored in musical theater at American University.

Jeannine Jacobs, a new transplant to Damascus in 1984, also had a passion for the theater. She placed a notice in The Plantations community newsletter looking for other people interested in theater. Marie Stanton replied and the Damascus Theatre Company was born.

Emerson Slacom had wanted to get a theater group together, too, Stanton said. He donated about $200 he had collected for that purpose to the new company and they were off.

The county Department of Recreation allowed the company to use schools free of charge and also donated some money, Swink said. No one has been able to find Jacobs for the anniversary celebration, she said.

The first show, an original musical comedy, "On the Road to Damascus," was written by J. Patrice Kaluza and Duane Nystrom and performed as dinner theater at Damascus High School in 1985. The school's restaurant management program cooked the food, Stanton said.

"The community was young then," she said. "I think people were excited about this young venture."

Veterinarian David Goodman was relatively new to the community when he joined the first production and became the company's second president.

"It was just a lot of fun. There's people I still know [from the company]," he said. "I'd still love to do it, but I can't imagine where I'd get the time."

A changing cast of dedicated volunteers has kept the company going, said Stephanie Bonte-Lebair of Gaithersburg, the current president.

"As long as there are volunteers willing to do the work, it will keep going, she said.

The Damascus Theatre Company will perform "Silver Anniversary of Song" at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at Damascus United Methodist Church, 99700 New Church St. Prices are $18 for nonmembers, $15 for members, $12 for children ages 6-18 years and free for children age 5 and under. Call 301-253-6210.