Opening with the strains of Johnny Rivers' classic 1960s rocker "Secret Agent Man," the Children's Theatre production of Harriet the Spy manages to keep up a fast pace and squeezes a lot of fun for the younger set into a show that, counting intermission, runs less than two hours.

Based on the book by Louise Fitzhugh, the production's title pretty much explains it all. Eleven-year-old sixth-grader Harriet finds the time, in between satisfying her cravings for tomato sandwiches, with spying on her friends and neighbors, entering everything into one of her multiplying journals. (One would hope that her journal entries are kept in "spy"-ral bound notebooks, nyuk, nyuk.) Along the way, Harriet has to deal with some of the ups and downs of life, and she has to face off against her elementary-school arch-nemesis, Marion. Harriet is helped by her friends, budding chemist Janie and football-toting dude Sport.

There's a lot to like in this production, led by Caroline Brent as Harriet. She's got a lot of positive energy that radiates across the large Thomas Jefferson Community Theatre stage. Mary Kobor is a lot of fun as Janie, who gets a number of spunky lines, and you have to like the enthusiasm of Blair Hicks as Sport. Julie Hurst has a good time acting as the know-it-all foil, Marion, and Eileen Sugameli is a hoot as Marion's second-in-command. It's a large cast, and there are too many nice performances to list here. It's quite impressive.Director James Perry keeps the action moving - squeezing an awful lot of action into a short time frame. This production is hurt, though, by the cavernous stage at Thomas Jefferson, which tends to dissipate the energy of the cast, particularly during what turned out to be unnecessarily long set changes on opening night. But, if you're looking for something that the kids will enjoy, the Children's Theatre is always a bright spot. It's amazing how quickly several hundred chattering kids turn quiet and attentive as the lights go down. They know that something good is about to happen, and this cast does not disappoint. Now, if I could only get the guitar licks from "Secret Agent Man" from rattling around in my head!