Madeline's Christmas at Actor's Playhouse Through December 17

You might know the amiable and charming Madeline from Ludwig Bemelmans's popular children's book series about an all-girls Catholic boarding school in Paris. Actors' Playhouse, which did such a splendid job with Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, is bringing one of the precocious little redhead's misadventures to life for the holidays in Madeline's Christmas. In this story, the girls and their caretaker, Miss Clavel, are readying themselves to return home for the holidays when they unexpectedly come down with the flu. But that pesky influenza virus doesn't stand a chance against little Madeline's gregariousness. Undeterred and looking to save the day, brave Madeline takes it upon herself to come through for her friends to get them home in time for Christmas, with a little help from a mysterious rug merchant. "In an old house in Paris that was covered with vines," the story begins, "lived 12 little girls in two straight lines." Madeline's Christmas is an enjoyable, funny, and heartwarming musical for the entire family.