family + fun

In unison, first-grader Abigail Samuel and her friend declared "Mr. McGee and the Biting Flea" to be "awesome." And what was one of their favorite parts? When one of the actors gets totally naked onstage, in what could be a first for this theater.

Don't worry, parents. It's all in chaste fun.

The production that opened Friday at Children's Theatre was supposed to be a rental. A team of Twin Cities talent stepped in at the last minute to mount "Mr. McGee" after the original artists from Australia's Patch Theatre Company were denied visas for entry into this country.

If the performers and crew were flying by the seat of their pants -- the show was delayed a week while the team crammed to get it ready -- there was no indication of that onstage.

Actors Reed Sigmund, Autumn Ness and Max Wojtanowicz are a cohesive, well matched trio in this show. Using an assortment of props -- mops, ladders, an air pump, steamer trunks, balloons -- the three performers bring Pamela Allen's stories to sweet, music-infused life. In the process they make "Mr. McGee" a simple, elegant valentine to theatrical imagination.

Allen's stories, staged as serial episodes, have simple narratives. In one, a wayward duckling that lives with its family near the Sydney Opera House falls into a hole. Adults try to rescue it, but a youngster comes up with the solution.

In another story, a farmer tries to milk a cow named Belinda, but she's having none of it. He comes up with a gender-switching ruse. And in the title story, Mr. McGee finally frees himself of the biting flea by jumping out of his clothes and into the sea.

You almost expect CTC veterans Ness and Sigmund (who are married in real life) to be able to do anything. They were fabulous in "Cinderella" and are likewise here.

What's exciting in this show is that young Wojtanowicz holds his own with them. In singing and comic timing, in his commitment and playfulness, he is proving himself a fine performer.

"Mr. McGee" is clearly a small production, from its props, the only elements of the Australian production to be let in the country, to its 60-minute length. It does not suffer from being scaled up for the Children's Theatre's mainstage.

It is rare to see a show that leaves an avid theatergoer wanting more. "Mr. McGee" does.