Dinner and a show? How about dessert and a show. This week, the River Center Theatre for Performing Arts announced its Broadway in Baton Rouge 2024-2025 season lineup. To make the news even sweeter, the venue is partnering with local bakery CounterspaceBR to release four show-themed cookies.

Baton Rouge can soon get a bite of the Big Apple as four traveling Broadway musicals hit the local stage: Shrek The Musical, Tina – The Tina Turner Musical, Chicago The Musical and Pretty Woman The Musical. On Tuesday, CounterspaceBR revealed four flavors that pair with the shows. They will be available at the bakery’s Mid City location next week, starting Tuesday, July 16. All flavors will be served daily until sold out.

 

“I’ve seen so many other markets in the United States do these different cookie collaborations or ice cream collaborations for things like that with local businesses,” says Raising Cane’s River Center Sales and Marketing Manager Alysia Guin. “That’s something that the River Center has never done before. So, I really wanted to bring in a local business to kind of garner a little bit more excitement about the season and have it benefit a local business at the same time.”

The CounterspaceBR cookies play on details in each show. For Shrek, the bakery dyed its classic Snickerdoodle Cookie a swampy, ogre-approved green. The Tina cookie is the “Simply the Best” Salted Chocolate Chip Cookie, a nod to the singer’s hit and the shop’s customer fave. The Chicago-inspired cookie is the Death by Chocolate Espresso Cookie, a play on the show’s big number. The Pretty Woman cookie is a Chocolate-drizzled Strawberry Cookie because the sweet snack was featured in the movie the musical is based on.

Though the theater-themed treats will be on sale next week, Guin says there are plans to wholesale CounterspaceBR’s cookies to sell at concession stands during the shows when they kick off in the fall.

“It’s always nice when you’re working on something creative with other creative people to bring something to the table that’s valuable,” CounterspaceBR owner Sarah Joy Hays says. “And hopefully it will get people excited.”

Hays says she enjoyed matching and tweaking cookie recipes to mirror the Broadway in Baton Rouge lineup.

“I’m actually a very big theater nerd,” Hays says. “I did musical theater all through middle school, high school and college. I even did some stuff outside of college. So (this collaboration) was really fun, just because I knew the musicals well enough that I didn’t have to spend a ton of brain power researching and making sure (it was) the right thing and didn’t miss some funky detail.”

Broadway in Baton Rouge has been around for decades, Guin says, though the venue took a break from theater shows between 2018 and 2021 for renovations. The theater renovations included new orchestra-level seats, a redone stage, box seating, upgraded acoustics, an updated lobby and more.

The River Center books shows through Nederlander National Markets, which helps bring Broadway touring shows across the country. Guin says this year’s lineup has both classic and new tales that skew to both young and older audiences.

“Run times and everything are pretty much the same as you’d see in a New York show,” Guin says. “We’re also working on different things this year to make it a little bit more of an experience for Broadway subscribers and Broadway patrons, like doing specialty cocktails that are themed to the show and working with Counterspace to have these specialty cookies.”

Season packages for Broadway Baton Rouge are on sale now and start at $235 for all four musicals. Packages can be purchased here, and those interested can email [email protected] for any questions. Check CounterspaceBR’s Instagram to keep up with next week’s cookie availability.

Broadway in Baton Rouge 2024-2025 season

Shrek The Musical

Tuesday, Oct. 1

Tina – The Tina Turner Musical

Monday, Nov. 18

Chicago The Musical

Wednesday, Dec. 18

Pretty Woman The Musical

Tuesday, April 1, 2025

This article originally appeared in 225 magazine’s 225 Daily newsletter.