“Stuart Little”: A classic tale of friendship, tolerance and loyalty, the Whidbey Children’s Theatre version of this E.B. White original, adapted by Joseph Robinette, promises to bring all the charm and wisdom of the storybook mouse to the live stage.

Directed by Martha Murphy, Stuart, played by Tyler O’Neill, takes on many adventures in the big world as he seeks his fortune and searches for his dearest friend, Margalo the bird, played by Bella Witherspoon.

The story is set on a stage designed by Jodi Cable with set construction by Mike Jovich. Costume, props and production design are by the team of Nicole O’Neill, Terri Hawkins and Martha Murphy.

Other actors include Joshua Torok and Sadie Greene as Mr. and Mrs. Little, and Coel Cable as Stuart’s older brother, George. Libby Hawkins plays Harriet Ames, the petite girl that is “just his size.”

Other actors, playing multiple roles include Elijah Torok, Carlos Bishi, Liam Henny, Austin Drake, Sean Drake, Megan Drake, Keith Zimmerman and Kyle Zimmerman.

“Stuart Little” runs weekends starting at 7:30 tonight with shows at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 p.m. Sundays through Dec. 13 at Whidbey Children’s Theatre, 222 Anthes Ave., Suite 102, Langley. Tickets are $12 and $8. This Saturday’s show and the Dec. 6 show are family shows with all seats for $7. Call 360-221-2282 or go to www.whidbey.com/wct.

“Rudolph: The Next Verse”: Have you ever wondered what happened to Rudolph after that fateful night?

Well, Wing-It Productions follows up on the reindeer with the red nose using an original improvised play and help from an animated snowman to fill in the blanks.

“Rudolph: The Next Verse,” is a comic look at a favorite holiday story that takes off after Christmas ends.

And each night of “Rudolph’s” run will be a completely different show because each night it will be narrated by an audience-interactive computer-animated snowman, who will take suggestions from the audience to create the next chapter in Rudolph’s tale.

Creator and director Andrew McMasters said his goal with “Rudolph” was to have audiences look at a holiday classic in a different light.

“There’s a lot of the same holiday plays being performed every year. There are very few modern holiday shows. Rudolph is a new show that is funny and smart, and it’s OK to bring the kids to it,” McMasters said in a press release.

“Rudolph: The Next Verse” is at 8 p.m. Thursday at the Historic University Theater, 5510 University Way NE, Seattle. Performances are at 8 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays through Dec. 18 and 2 p.m. Saturdays through Dec. 19. Tickets are $10. Call 800-838-3006 or go to www.wingitpresents.com. The show may contain scenes of reindeer discrimination and scary Christmas monsters but is still suitable for ages 5 and above.

Theresa Goffredo: 425-339-3424; goffredo@heraldnet.com.