Penny Dwyer, top left, and Thaddeus Valdez starred in a 2000 production of "The Sound of Music" at the Country Dinner Playhouse that included future Broadway stars Melissa Benoist and Annaleigh Ashfor

Penny Dwyer, top left, and Thaddeus Valdez starred in a 2000 production of "The Sound of Music" at the Country Dinner Playhouse that included future Broadway stars Melissa Benoist and Annaleigh Ashford, top right, and Jesse JP Johnson, bottom right. Dwyer died on April 7, 2024.

Through the years, Dwyer rubbed acting elbows with all kinds of bigshots, including Tony Award nominee Beth Malone (“Fun Home”) in the Arvada Center’s “Company,” and TV’s “Supergirl,” Melissa Benoist, now the star of Max’s streaming series “Girls on the Bus.”

When Dwyer starred as Maria in a 2000 production of “The Sound of Music” at Country Dinner Playhouse, the actors playing her stepchildren included three future Broadway stars: Ashford, Benoist and Jesse JP Johnson. (He went on to play Boq in “Wicked.”)

Benoist and her sisters called her “Perfect Penny” throughout their childhood.

"She was just the epitome of grace, kindness and warmth," said Benoist. "She truly exemplified beauty radiating from within. My little sister basically thought she was a real-life princess until she was 6 or 7."