Super Genius : At the Irvine Valley Theatrefaire, a Typical Day in the Life of a Most Atypical 10-Year-Old

Bart Simpson, prepare to meet your match. Defender of justice, champion of the underdog and all-around good kid, Harriet Handleman is the kind of girl who would send America’s favorite underachiever running for cover. Kids can tag along on “The Everyday Adventures of Harriet Handleman, Super Genius,” an original play being presented through Saturday, July 21 by the Irvine Valley College Theatrefaire for Children.

Written and directed by Greg Atkins, “Harriet” traces a typical day in the life of this 10-year-old whiz kid: Get up, catch the school bus, uncover a diabolical plot to destroy the world and chase the villain across the globe with the help of a dreamy CIA agent. Then, wrap everything up in time for the school science fair.

Parents, don’t plan to catnap through this one. “Harriet” is about as tranquil as a game of Pac-Man, and just as much freewheeling fun for the kids. There are chase scenes, a brush or two with certain death, enough gadgets and gizmos to satisfy OO7 himself and even a little G-rated romance (a glance from that handsome CIA man turns level-headed Harriet into Silly Putty).

Standouts in the 10-member cast include 9-year-old Stephanie Kinkel as Harriet, a normal fifth-grader who just happens to have an IQ of 289. (“I’m not smarter than anyone else,” she says modestly. “I just apply myself.”) With her frowzy jumper, black spectacles and sweet disposition, Kinkel gives us a genuinely likable egghead, and wears her super-hero cape with aplomb. Nathan Headrick, 9, is wonderfully nerdy as Leonard Digbee, a dweeb’s dweeb whose only goal in life is to one-up Harriet.

Playful (and plentiful) sets by Brad Elsberry and sound effects by Eric Kerns help transport Harriet on her globe-trotting adventures. She hitches a ride on a whirring helicopter complete with flashing panel lights, tangles with a giant octopus on the Great Barrier Reef and lands in hot water with Amazon headhunters, all within the 25-foot span of the stage.

Founded in 1982 by Blake and Charlene Gould, Irvine Valley Theatrefaire presents two family shows every summer on the Irvine Valley College campus. This season’s second offering, an outdoor staging of “The Adventures of Robin Hood,” opens Thursday, July 19 and will run through July 28.

What: “The Everyday Adventures of Harriet Handleman, Super Genius.”

When: Thursday, July 19 at 2 p.m.; Friday, July 20 at 2 and 6 p.m., and Saturday, July 21 at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Where: Irvine Valley College Forum Theatre, 5500 Irvine Center Drive, Irvine.

Whereabouts: Take the Jeffrey Road exit from the San Diego Freeway, head north to Irvine Center Drive and turn right.

Wherewithal: $6 to $8.

Where to call: (714) 559-3333.