Players Theatre

Michael Sgouros and Brenda Bell's child-oriented musical adaptation of the classic folktale— as rendered in books by Jeanne-Marie LePrince de Beaumont and Madame De Villeneuve—celebrates a bookish girl's ability to see past the hirsute appearance or her kidnapper. Pierce Cassedy directs this 70-minute production; the first performance of each two-show day is preceded by an hour-long arts workshop at which kids can meet members of the company and create a mask to take home.

As Agatha Christie's crime novels shift into public domain, we can expect a lot more stage adaptations of her mysteries than the ones she authorized or wrote herself. Here, Brenda Bell tees up 1923's The Murder on the Links, a whodunnit set on a French golf course and featuring the fussy Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. Although the book is subpar by Christie standards, perhaps this swing at it will make it work. Shino Frances directs a cast of 12 for Bell's Be Bold! Productions.