A Buxton holiday tradition, “The Old Peabody Pew,” presented with a holiday mix of caroling, cider and cookies, promises to be fun and tasty.

“It’s a Christmas play, a romantic comedy,” said Sharon House, a member of the cast. “It’s been a tradition in town for a long time.”

The two-act play, written by Kate Douglas Wiggin, will be performed at 7 p.m. on Sunday at Tory Hill Church, intersection of routes 112 and 202, Buxton. The production is a fundraiser for the Dorcas Society of Buxton and Hollis, a charitable group founded by Wiggin, who summered in nearby Hollis.

Tickets are $5; $2.50, children under 12. Snow date is Sunday, Dec. 9.

Kathy Miles directs this year’s rendition of the play, which was first performed in 1918. In the play, Justin Peabody returns home penniless after years to woo Nancy Wentworth, a former sweetheart left unmarried. Timothy Cook plays Peabody and Lynn Cummings is cast as Wentworth.

Members of the cast include Carolyn Vail as Maria Sharp; Barbara Cole, Mrs. Baxter; Ann Peterson, Mrs. Burbank; Janice Flint, Mrs. Sargent; Linda Caouette, Lobelia Brewster; Emily White, 11, Sally Bixby; Teivy Manuel, 90, narrator; House, Mrs. Miller; and Miles, Widow Buzzell.

Many have filled roles for years, but this production marks the first for Peterson and White. “I’m really happy to be in the play for the first time,” said White, a sixth-grade student at Waynflete School in Portland.

Playing Sally Bixby, White is cast in the role that wasn’t in the original play, adapted by Wiggin from her book by the same title. Bixby was written in later by Wiggin as a birthday gift for a namesake and neighbor’s daughter, Kate Douglas (Libby) Mason.

Each year, Barbara Anderson, Mason’s daughter, who inherited the part, selects the actress to play Bixby. Anderson has provided the cape worn by Bixby in the play for years.

Before the play, warm cider and cookies will be served at 6:30 p.m. and the church pastor, the Rev. Karen Christensen, will lead caroling.

Cutline (Peabody pew 1) (Peabody pew 2)