Conditions are perfect for a White Christmas at Toby’s Dinner Theatre

Jeri Tidwell Photography

It’s interesting that Irving Berlin’s White Christmas is considered a ‘classic’ musical because the show did not have its first stage appearance until 2000. Of course it is a classic because it’s based on the 1954 film of the same name (although the title song was first introduced in the 1942 film Holiday Inn) which has become a holiday perennial on TV. And with the holidays upon us — and a very different year than the last — it’s time to get the family out and into the holiday spirit with the new production now on stage at Toby’s Dinner Theatre in Columbia, Maryland.

White Christmas tells the story of soldiers-turned-showmen Bob Wallace (Jeffrey Shankle) and Phil Davis (David James) as they prepare to spend the holiday in Florida and work on their next show. Phil tricks Bob into seeing a sister act, Betty and Judy Haynes (Janine Sunday & Alicia Osborn), to possibly include them in their new show. Phil already has eyes for Judy, and they both hope something will spark with Bob and Betty, but both of them realize they’ve been duped into this meeting and aren’t about to play anyone’s game. With Judy and Betty booked at a Vermont inn for Christmas, Bob thinks they’ll never see the girls again but Phil has other plans, booking him and his partner on a train to Vermont. Once they all arrive in Vermont, Bob and Phil are surprised to find the inn is owned by their former commanding officer, General Henry Waverly (Robert Biederman), and they also learn from Waverly’s ‘concierge’ Martha Watson (Jane C. Boyle) that the inn is in financial trouble so Bob cooks up a plan to do a show to help out their friend, inviting all of the men from their company to attend. But a miscommunication make Betty, who has finally begun to warm to Bob, think that Bob’s ‘company’ is coming to Vermont to buy the inn out from under Waverly, so she departs Vermont leaving the whole production without a major part of the show and Bob without a clue as to why Betty is so upset with him. Can Bob smooth things over and get Betty to see what his real ‘million dollar proposition’ is?

White Christmas is about the holiday spirit, friendship and romance and it’s the perfect show to get you into the holiday spirit. The show’s story follows classic showbiz and romance tropes with a couple meeting, not getting along, finally falling for each other, being parted by some circumstance, and reuniting for a happy ending. It also adds in a respectful military angle and the bonds that form among the troops that culminates in a scene that may leave you with a real lump in your throat (I was trying not to sniffle too loudly as it hit me in all the feels). And as the whole cast sings the title song, and invites the audience to sing along … it was all I could do to keep from blubbering like a baby. Chalk that up to the material, the performances and the direction that makes the audience a part of the story, and makes us totally invested in Bob and Betty’s relationship, and Bob & Phil’s relationship with Waverly.

Ever since I first saw Shankle and James together in Toby’s production of Young Frankenstein, I always look forward to them being paired up in other shows. The two have good chemistry on stage and play well off of each other, and they both get to sing and dance together and separately, one of the comedic highlights coming in the second act when they have to rehearse the ‘Sisters’ number after Betty leaves them in the lurch. Phil also has an intense tap dance number with Judy that is sure to wow you. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Shankle has a terrific voice and when he sings with Sunday, it’s enough to give you goosebumps. And Sunday’s solo number ‘Love, You Didn’t Do Right By Me’ is a real showstopper. Jane C. Boyle’s Martha also gets to belt out a solo tune, ‘Let Me Sing and I’m Happy’, and then joins Betty & Judy for ‘Falling Out of Love Can Be Fun’. Every member of the cast is perfection, and it’s nice to see familiar and new faces in this show. The one thing about a show at Toby’s is that there are no small parts. No matter if it’s a lead role, supporting or just part of the ensemble, actors who play multiple roles, each person on stage give 110 percent.

Jeri Tidwell Photography

And that comes down to the dedication from director Mark Minnick. Minnick knows exactly how to use the in-the-round stage at Toby’s to its best advantage, making sure the cast is always playing to the entire audience, especially during the musical numbers. But if someone is on stage, no matter if they have lines or are just background, they are always doing something, always paying attention to the main action, reacting appropriately. It’s a huge level of commitment from everyone involved and that is what makes this show, and every show at Toby’s, so enjoyable. White Christmas also has some terrific choreography from Christen Svingos including several tap dance numbers involving a large part of the cast. Dinner theatre sometimes gets a bad rap or looked down upon as ‘community theatre’ (which is often used as a punchline to a joke about bad acting), but the productions at Toby’s rival anything you can see on the legitimate stage … and sometimes even better. The lighting design by Lynn Joslin is perfection. David A. Hopkins finds clever ways to transform the stage from the inn to the barn simply by the position of two beams on either side of the stage, and Janine Sunday’s costumes are beautiful, particularly the gorgeous outfits worn for the final performance of ‘White Christmas’. If all of this doesn’t put you in the holiday spirit, then nothing will.

In addition to the show, you also get the delicious dinner (or brunch if you take in an early show) buffet, dessert and the signature show drink which this time is called the ‘Million Dollar Proposition’ — a frozen hot chocolate with whipped cream and a hint of peppermint, which comes in a souvenir glass you can take home with you. It comes in both ‘adult’ and non-alcoholic versions. It is delicious!

Christmas is just around the corner and the holiday season always seems to come and go faster than we can enjoy it, so find some time in your busy schedule to just relax and enjoy the holidays, or get yourself in the spirit, by taking in a performance of White Christmas at Toby’s Dinner Theatre.

White Christmas plays through January 9, 2022 and has a run time of about 2 hours and 30 minutes with one 15 minute intermission. Next at Toby’s is Monty Python’s Spamalot, from January 14 – March 20, 2022.