‘Gift’ for Children

O. Henry’s enduring holiday classic “The Gift of the Magi,” about a man and a woman who each sacrifice something precious in order to give the other a gift, is an unusual choice for a theater company whose target audience is around age 4 and up.

But in its simply staged adaptation of the tale, “The Gift” by Karen Hardcastle, Creative Play Ground (formerly Imagination in Residency) has maximum kid-friendliness in mind. Though it’s not as assured in presentation or theatricality as previous shows, its chances for audience participation are almost nonstop and its engaging kid-sized spin stays true to the spirit of the original.

Instead of grown-ups, the selfless pair here are 8-year-old best pals (played by adult actors): Becky (Bonnie Kovar), who celebrates Hanukkah--and has a locket without a chain to hang it from--and Mark (Bradley Warden), who celebrates Christmas--and has a treasured pocket watch but not a safe place to keep it. Things are a little rocky when pretty, snooty Cindy (Marnie Olson) turns Mark’s head for a bit, but he and Becky wind up celebrating the spirit of the season and their friendship with self-sacrificing generosity.

Directed by Elizabeth Tobias in a small space on the floor inside the large community center auditorium, the no-frills show gets its message across with warmth and gentle humor, although its introductory nod to Hanukkah and Christmas traditions, and a mid-show enactment of “The Nutcracker” aren’t evenly integrated into the mix. And it takes a special knack to overcome the reservations of reluctant little ones and get them to participate or to be able to keep the pace and energy flowing if audience involvement isn’t forthcoming.

The actors at a recent performance, handicapped by having only six shy children in the audience, were game but not quite as unflappable as casts in previous shows. (The production is double cast, with Kyle Silbernagel, Kirk Roos and Tracey Perwin playing the roles at some performances.)

For kids who are less inhibited, however, there are oodles of opportunities to get into the act: playing such audience-suggested games as Duck, Duck, Goose and Freeze Tag; spinning the dreidel, singing carols, becoming (briefly) a “Nutcracker” character and helping to decorate a Christmas tree.

* “The Gift,” Encino Community Center, 4935 Balboa Blvd., Encino, Saturdays and Sundays, 1 p.m. through Jan. 17. $5 to $7. (310) 636-8089 or (818) 995-1690.

The Big Screen: Silent movie comedies, classic musicals and choice recent family films are on tap in the UCLA Film and Television Archive’s new family series “Kids’ Flicks,” beginning in January and featuring a double feature on the first Sunday of every month at 2 p.m. at UCLA’s James Bridges Theatre.

The series opens Jan. 10 with the 1940 British fantasy “The Thief of Baghdad” and “The Jungle Book,” from 1942, starring Sabu. Other films are “A Little Princess” (1995) and “The Secret of Roan Inish” (1994) on Feb. 7; “Sherlock, Jr.” (silent, 1924, directed by Buster Keaton) and Charlie Chaplin’s “City Lights” (1931) on March 3; “The Black Stallion” (1979) and “National Velvet” (1944) on April 11; the Beatles’ animated “Yellow Submarine” (1968) and the animated feature “James and the Giant Peach” (1996) on May 2; and two classic musicals, “Meet Me in St. Louis” (1944) and “Singin’ in the Rain” (1952) on June 6.

* “Kids’ Flicks,” James Bridges Theater, UCLA (northeast corner, near the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Hilgard Avenue), Westwood, first Sunday of each month, beginning Jan. 10. Ends June 6. $4. (310) 206-FILM.

Pulling Strings: Little Boy Blue, ducks in raincoats, pigs, crows, weasels, bunnies on springs, tomato vine ladies and more: Not what you’d expect to find in downtown’s business and shopping district, but these delightful, finely crafted marionettes have taken up temporary residence in the Fine Arts Building lobby on 7th Street, now through Jan. 18. Free to the public, it’s a special holiday exhibit of puppets from the historic Bob Baker Marionette Theatre’s upcoming show, “Something to Crow About,” opening in February.

Scores of the inventive, comic puppets are displayed in 17 cases surrounding the lobby fountain; the exhibit’s curator is puppet historian Alan Cook, co-founder of the Los Angeles Guild for Puppetry.

* “Something to Crow About” exhibit, Fine Arts Building lobby, 811 W. 7th St. (between Figueroa and Flower streets), Los Angeles, Mondays through Fridays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Jan. 18. Free. Bob Baker Marionette Theatre show information: (213) 250-9995.