LA PLATA — Eight young bakers, three celebrity judges and one first prize are headed to downtown La Plata this holiday season. Port Tobacco Players will stage The Great Christmas Cookie Bake-Off! from Nov. 20 through Dec. 13 at its theater at 508 Charles St.
Theatergoers who know the company’s schedule should note one change. Friday and Saturday performances now start at 7:30 p.m., a new start time for 2026, according to the company’s press release. Sunday matinees begin at 3 p.m.
Tickets and times
- Run: Nov. 20 through Dec. 13
- Curtain: Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.; Sundays at 3 p.m.
- Tickets: $20 for adults; $17 for seniors over 60, youth through high school and military with ID
- Where to buy: ptplayers.com
The company’s website lists the run dates but not a performance-by-performance calendar, so audiences should check ptplayers.com for specific dates before buying. The box office can be reached at 301-932-6819.
The show
Rick Hip-Flores wrote the music and lyrics for the musical, which licensing house Concord Theatricals says was first created in 2020. In the story, eight young cookie chefs from around the country compete at the Cookie Coliseum in Orlando, Florida. Three celebrity judges eliminate them one by one, and the competition gives way to lessons about family, charity and forgiveness.
Concord’s show listing describes 15 roles: the eight contestants plus seven adults, including the host, the judges and a contestant’s grandmother. The licensing house lists a running time of about an hour.
The production is directed by Travis Clarke and produced by Mike Gahan, with music direction by Chloe Crouse.
A La Plata institution
Port Tobacco Players traces its roots to the winter of 1947, when a fundraising plan for the Port Tobacco courthouse restoration was hatched at Stagg Hall, according to the Maryland State Arts Council. The company performs in the former Charles Theater, a movie house built around 1942 that the group bought in 2002. The site was also La Plata’s first town hall.
The company stages six shows a season on its main stage and sends its Encore and Encore Kids companies out on the road. Its 2026-27 season also includes All Shook Up, The Cottage and Disney’s Frozen.
Families looking for more live theater this fall can also catch fall plays at seven Charles County high schools, which run Oct. 22 through Dec. 13.
