Toys come to life in the Children's Theatre production of The Velveteen Rabbit, a show that features solid acting and some good lessons interspersed among the rapid-paced fun.

Based on a book by Margery Williams, the plot is somewhat convoluted, but it plays out so comfortably over two acts and 90 minutes that nearly all kids will be able to keep up. Parents, too.

To keep it succinct, let's just say that the show starts just after young Alex has accidentally destroyed a favorite toy. To find a successor, Alex's Nana digs deep, deep into the closet and, probably next to a Leonardo DiCaprio action figure, finds Fluffy, a toy rabbit. (Fortunately for Fluffy, he's a Velveteen rabbit, garbed in some kind of knock-off velvet, and not a Velveeta rabbit, in which case he would have been melted down and smothered over nacho chips during this past weekend's NFL wild card games.)

Alex falls in love with Fluffy, even though some of the household's other toys are none too happy that the just-out-of-the-closet rabbit is getting all the attention. That is, until the skin horse explains the importance of being different and living with one another.

("Skin horse"? Stop asking questions, or you'll fall hopelessly behind as the plot moves forward.) Fluffy accidentally ends up in the woods, meeting up with some real rabbits who are a little wary, especially after Fluffy tries to convince them that a rabbit's favorite food is butterscotch pudding. Fluffy also checks in with the toy fairy, who tells him that he must get a heart if he is ever to be changed into a real animal.

All the while, a scarlet fever epidemic is raging throughout the town, and soon enough, it has young Alex in its grip. The youth is fading fast, the wise horse has been carried off by a loopy doctor, and Fluffy -- the only one who can aid with recovery -- has been left outside at the back of the house, with nighttime setting in.

Yipes!

Director Marji Jepperson has found herself a uniformly solid cast. Both Katie Rosenberg as Alex and Catherine Tribone as the rabbit have true stage presence, clearly enunciate (sound, in fact, was great this production) and bring a level of empathy to their characters.

Julie Ryan is sufficiently strict but fair as Nana, while Patrick Jaffke pulls off the tricky role of the horse with charm. Jimmy Keady, a Children's Theatre veteran, also has a few good moments as the physician. Among the toy box ensemble, you've got to like Bianca Cesaratto as a rag dog and Natalie Martin as a wind-up mouse, both of whom are at first quite displeased to see the rabbit win Alex's heart. This dog and mouse are catty, patronizing, rude -- the animal-toy counterparts to the Fox Network's dream team of Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie!

Lina Ewell adds a stylish touch of Glinda the Good Witch in her performance of the toy fairy. As the story unfolds, everyone learns to work together to defeat a common enemy: the scarlet fever germs that are spreading throughout Alex's bedroom. And, while there are moments parents might wonder if things are going to end badly and they're going to have to calm emotionally traumatized youngsters as they leave the theater, everything turns out all right in the end.

Director Jepperson keeps the pace moving, and made the smart decision to let the interior and exterior sets share space on the large Thomas Jefferson stage. Set changes can suck the life out of any production, and here, there is no need for them. Smart.

Costumes (Debra Leonard) are quite fetching. The technical details, as usual, are above par; in fact, the Childrenís Theatre could well show adult theatrical companies a thing or two in this regard. All told, this is a splendidly fun show for young people. Itís well-acted and well-directed, and features morals that come across as natural, not preachy.