Family : Muppetized Fairy Tales Star the Biggest Pig of Them All

The miller, hoping to win favor with the king, claims that his daughter can spin straw into gold. The fair young maiden’s response: “Are you out of your cotton-pickin’ mind?”

Familiar fairy tales are given a characteristically salty Muppet twist in “Muppet Classic Theater,” a new Jim Henson Video in which Kermit, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, Rizzo and other polished Muppet thespians take the stage in playlet versions of “The Three Little Pigs,” “Rumpelstiltskin,” “King Midas,” “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” and “The Elves and the Shoemaker.”

Not all goes smoothly. Miss Piggy gets heckled from the audience: “You call that a little pig?” It’s guaranteed that “break a leg” will be taken literally, and because Rizzo the Rat misreads a story title, Elvis and blue suede shoes suddenly figure into the Shoemaker’s economic future.

There are important lessons to be learned, however, beyond those in each sketch’s mostly unmemorable songs. King Midas’ wife (the versatile Miss Piggy) finds that gold isn’t as valuable as a good “slice-o-matic.” The Shoemaker (Kermit) develops fashion sense and the Elvis elves realize they can take their act to Vegas.

The gang does its usual professional job, despite some curtain trouble, script squabbles and the sheep’s unsuccessful attempt to end their play before the wolf’s arrival. Miss Piggy, however, is the indisputable star who gives this “Muppet Show” revisited most of its best moments, still aided and abetted, thankfully, by comic genius Frank Oz.

* Muppet Classic Theatre. 70 minutes. $19.95.

Photoplay: “The Magic of Play,” a photography exhibition exploring the evolution of play among children of the world, opens Wednesday at the Directors Guild of America. Featuring 125 works by world-renowned photographers and pictures taken by children in the Los Angeles Cities in Schools dropout prevention program, it is the third exhibition in a community outreach series sponsored by Giorgio of Beverly Hills to raise funds and recognition for Cities in Schools.

* 7920 Sunset Blvd., (310) 315-3110. Exhibition hours: Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Sunday, 1 p.m. to 8 p.m., through Dec. 2. Free.