White Christmas Brings Irving Berlin's Holiday Magic to Toby's Dinner Theatre
The jack-o'-lanterns are glowing on front porches and Halloween is still a couple of weeks away, but theatre lovers in the DC area would be wise to start thinking about snow. Holiday shows are just around the corner, and the best seats for the season's most popular productions tend to disappear long before the first frost. One of the earliest to arrive is White Christmas, which opens at Toby's Dinner Theatre in Columbia, Maryland on November 6 and runs through January 10, 2027. With an opening night that falls less than a week after trick-or-treaters put away their costumes, this is one holiday tradition that rewards planning ahead, and Toby's itself notes that its holiday productions have a habit of selling out.
Based on the beloved 1954 Paramount film starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen, White Christmas tells the story of Bob Wallace and Phil Davis, two World War II veterans who have built a successful song-and-dance act after the war. When the pair follow Betty and Judy Haynes, a duo of singing sisters, to a Christmas engagement at a rural Vermont lodge, they discover that the struggling inn belongs to their old commanding officer, General Waverly. With business slow and no snow in sight, the performers band together to stage a festive extravaganza that will fill the inn and give the General a holiday he will never forget. Along the way there are romantic misunderstandings, show-stopping tap numbers, and the kind of warmhearted reunion that has kept audiences coming back for generations.
The heart of the show is its music. The score features seventeen songs by Irving Berlin, one of the most celebrated composers in American history, including "Blue Skies," "How Deep Is the Ocean," "Sisters," "Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep," "I Love a Piano," and of course the title song. "White Christmas" was first introduced by Crosby in the 1942 film Holiday Inn, and his recording went on to become one of the best-selling singles of all time, so hearing it sung live as the snow finally falls on the Vermont lodge remains one of the most anticipated moments in any holiday theatre season.
The stage adaptation, with a book by David Ives and Paul Blake, was developed in the early 2000s and went on to Broadway, where it played limited holiday engagements at the Marquis Theatre in 2008 and 2009. Since then it has become a staple of regional theatres across the country, prized for its blend of nostalgia, big ensemble dance numbers, and a story that is perfectly suited to audiences of every age. It is the rare musical that grandparents who grew up watching the film on television and kids seeing live theatre for the first time can enjoy equally, which is a big part of why so many families have made it an annual outing.
Toby's is an especially fitting home for a show like this. As a dinner theatre, it pairs a buffet meal with a full-scale musical performed in the round, putting audiences close to the action for every tap break and every harmony from the Haynes sisters. The combination of a holiday meal and a Christmas musical makes for an easy choice for family gatherings, office celebrations and festive date nights alike. This season also carries a little extra meaning for longtime fans, as Toby's is preparing to move into a brand-new performing arts center, making this White Christmas one of the final holiday productions on the theatre's original stage.
So go ahead and enjoy Halloween, but don't wait too long after the candy is gone to lock in your seats. White Christmas at Toby's is the kind of holiday outing that turns into a tradition, and with Irving Berlin's timeless songs leading the way, it is an easy way to start dreaming of a white Christmas well before the first snowflake falls.