FOR YEARS, I'd driven by the little West Side Hall Theater just outside the Northern Neck town of Callao.

Each time, I noticed the proud sign proclaiming it the home of The Westmoreland Players, and chastised myself for never having visited to see a show.

I remedied that this past November, taking in a Sunday matinee of the company's production of "The Amorous Adventures of Joseph Andrews," a 19th-century play by Henry Fielding.

The last performance in its sold-out run, this production of the elaborately costumed farce represented the best of what community theater can offer.

There were 27 people in the cast, ranging in age from 10 to 70, singing, dancing and acting as if they'd been doing it their whole lives--which was true for only a few. Behind the scenes were dozens more in the stage crew.

Pulled from all across the Northern Neck and Essex County, these folks are working or retired teachers, lawyers, doctors, businesspeople and others who combine their skills to put on three different shows most years.

Their next production, "The Dining Room" by A. R. Gurney Jr., begins Saturday. Its 10-show run continues through April 4.

In a series of vignettes set in a dining room, the play portrays family life as reflected in scenes that range from a child's birthday party to a secret tryst to a Thanksgiving dinner.

Heading into their 25th year, The Westmoreland Players have been entertaining patrons from the Northern Neck and elsewhere since 1979.

On my visit, historian Janice Coates, who had her hands full as stage manager for "Joseph Andrews," said the group is a company that has become like family.

"And we've had whole families where everyone took part, couples whose children joined them on stage or worked in the production crews," she said. "In some cases, from the time they were little until after they get back from college."

Ellen Lowery is one of those, having been involved in the Players when she was at Rappahannock High School in Warsaw.

She took a short hiatus while in college, but rejoined the group after returning to the Northern Neck to live and work.