Because you’re never too old for a bedtime story, ACT Theatre presents Short Stories Live: Tradition, with an Edge. Cozy up by the metaphorical fire in the cozy Town Hall basement and listen as John Aylward reads Jean Shepherd’s “Red Ryder Nails the Cleveland Street Kid,” the story which in part formed the basis for A Christmas Story, the 1983 holiday film adored by basic cable stations (see Wire, Tuesday). Then Paul Dorpat takes on O. Henry’s “The Gift of the Magi,” a happy tale about the poor-and-in-love, and Julie Briskman interprets William Trevor’s “Another Christmas,” a less happy tale about Irishmen.

Sun., Dec. 23, 4 p.m., 2007