ADRIAN — There are family reunions, and then there are family reunions.

Hundreds of the Croswell Opera House’s past and present performers, crew, volunteers, supporters, staff, and audience members converged on the historic theater on the afternoon of Friday, Aug. 7, for the Croswell’s Family Reunion.

The reunion, held as part of the Downtown Adrian First Fridays series, was the latest in a series of events this year marking the Croswell’s 160th birthday, dating from when what was originally called the Adrian Union Hall first opened its doors on March 19, 1866.

The Croswell hosted community productions of all sorts, lectures, and many other events until the 1920s when it became a movie theater. It closed its doors in 1967 and was on the verge of being torn down until a group of community-minded citizens stepped in to save the building and make it a home for live theater again. Its first summer season in its new capacity was in 1968.

About 400 people registered for the reunion, with many more stopping in over the course of the afternoon and evening. Registrants came not only from the greater Lenawee County area but from literally across the country as well, arriving from states including New York, Florida, Colorado, and California.

In between singalongs, a photo inside the theater, and tours of the building, castmates from long-ago shows greeted each other and reminisced about everything from fellow cast members to forgetting one’s lines to onstage costume mishaps. “Do you remember …?” was a common starting point for countless trips down Memory Lane.

Stephen Kiersey, whose history with the Croswell dates back to 1969 when he played in the pit orchestra for “Gypsy” and has continued through perhaps 75 shows all the way to the present time as an actor, director, and musician, reflected on two men who were pivotal to what the Croswell became.

One was Glenn Crane, the Croswell’s artistic director for several early seasons after the building returned to being a home for live theater in 1968. The other was the legendary Robert Soller, who led the Croswell for many years.

“At an event like this, I’m reminded of Glenn Crane and Bob Soller,” Kiersey said. “I’m grateful to them for their expertise and for mentoring me.”

As he spoke, he was joined by a castmate from those early years, Betsy Graham Marsh, whose first role at the Croswell was alongside Kiersey in “Little Mary Sunshine.”

“I always loved theater,” she said. “I did it in college. And I saw there were auditions for “Little Mary Sunshine” and that was it. I caught the bug.”

She would go on to act in some 15 or 20 Croswell shows and do the musical direction for some others before leaving for the Detroit area in 1987 and working there as a teacher and choral conductor.

What did the Croswell do for her? “I definitely grew as an actress,” she said. “It was such a nurturing environment.”

Another performer whose long history with the Croswell dates back to that era, Betsy Lackey, counts 1968’s “West Side Story” — an Adrian High School production done on the Croswell stage — as her first show at the theater.

Lackey and her husband, Michael, went on to be among the Croswell’s most iconic performers, as well as staunch supporters of the theater’s place in the local community.

“It’s very unique and very special,” she said. “Multiple generations have been involved here, and it’s also been a gateway for so many people going on to professional theater,” including Michael himself. “And all of it was made possible for them because” — she gestured toward the building — “we have this.”

Nearby, under a large white tent pitched in the middle of Maumee Street for the occasion, sat Jay Hillard, who made a name for herself at the Croswell through her multiple portrayals of Peter Pan over the years.

“To me, it’s life-changing, it’s life-enhancing” to have been part of the Croswell’s story. “And sometimes, it’s life itself.”

As Hillard spoke, she was joined at the table by Mary Scott, a veteran of many performances as an actor, costumer, and director who also served for a time as the Croswell’s artistic director. Scott now lives in Colorado. “I was here for 37 years total, 31 of those with Bob,” she said, referring to Soller, her predecessor as artistic director. “The Croswell gave me a job and it was my whole life.”

Yet another longtime acting and directing veteran, Julianne Dolan, first stepped onto the Croswell stage in “Carousel” in 1973 and went on to do some 100 shows, either onstage or as a director.

“I saw my dream come true,” she said, explaining that when she graduated from Siena Heights College, later University, she wanted to fulfill her mission of planting artistic seeds in others and seeing them grow. And at the Croswell, “I had this platform. I had this space.”

Jo Cooley, who came to the reunion from Mackinaw City, choreographed many of the Croswell’s productions and was a cast member in others. Although her background was in dance, musical theater was a new experience for her when Soller tapped her to choreograph “Babes in Toyland,” her first show.

 “Personally, I was affected by how professional everything was and that they wanted me to be a part of it,” she said.

She went on to choreograph and perform in many shows, including that ultimate dance homage “A Chorus Line” where she got to play the assistant choreographer. “It’s written for a man named Larry. They made me Lauren,” she said, laughing.

To Terry Hissong, who started out in the late 1970s with “The Man Who Came to Dinner” and went on to act in, direct, or design some 70 shows — and see two shows he wrote produced at the Croswell — the Croswell is part and parcel of the local community.

“I can’t think of another institution more at the heart of Adrian and Lenawee County, and that’s saying a lot,” he said.

Croswell artistic director Jere Righter, who almost literally grew up on the Croswell stage under Bob Soller’s mentorship, beginning with the show “I Remember Mama” and continuing through many more productions, echoed Hissong’s words.

“The fact the Croswell has existed in this community is worth celebrating,” she said. “It’s 160 years of the community caring about a place that might have been turned into a parking lot” when the building shut down as a movie theater.

“Over the almost 60 years since 1968, it’s been making magic happen. Sixty years of community-building, community-creating, community caring.”