In its newest production, Mill Mountain Theatre turns to “Tales of the Arabian Nights,” the legendary collection of folk tales from the Near East of antiquity. But be aware: This is not the erotica-laced version introduced to English-speaking readers by Sir Richard Burton in the late-19th century.

The show has been scrubbed clean and packaged for family audiences. The 1,001 nights have been reduced to three or four and the whole thing is over in just under an hour. Evening playgoers will have the unusual experience of emerging into daylight when emerging from the theater at Center in the Square.

None of this is to say Mill Mountain’s show isn’t entertaining. It’s a perfectly diverting way to spend an hour, certainly more edifying than almost everything on television between 7 and 8 p.m. The audience at Wednesday’s first preview performance was disappointing (only about 40 seats were occupied), but not disappointed. And most of its members were adults, though the play seems geared to the pre-teen set.

The collection of tales has fluctuated in size and sources over the centuries and has appeared under varying titles including Burton’s “The One Thousand and One Nights,” but the framework has remained consistent. It’s the story of Sheherazade, whose husband, the local caliph, has made a habit a taking a new wife every day and beheading her after the wedding night. His matrimonial peevishness stems from an incident with his first wife that left him convinced no woman is to be trusted.

Young Sheherazade devises a clever way to preserve her head. She tells her husband a different story every night but ends on a cliffhanger so that her spellbound husband must keep her around if he wants to hear the end of the story. After 1,001 stories — and as many nights — his murderous habit is broken. Sheherazade’s stories make up the “Arabian Nights” yarns that have passed through the ages.

Hanley Smith is Sheherazade in the Mill Mountain show. Steven Gibbs plays Shahriar, her curious husband. Kurt Aller, Matthew Harris, Alex Miller and Hilary Sutton make up the supporting cast. Each plays at least four parts. The onstage action is enhanced by recorded music, sound effects and one particularly impressive visual trick involving a homicidal genie.

The single set by Jimmy Ray Ward is a bit stagy, but typically solid and appealing visually. The show is directed by Pat Wilhelms, who heads the theater’s busy educational program. “Tales From the Arabian Nights” was written by Michael Bigelow Dixon and Jan Cole.

The show opens with a remarkably uninspired production number. It was woodenly performed at the first preview, but should come to life as the play settles into its run. With the first public performance almost under their belts, the cast was noticeably more lively and relaxed in the closing number Wednesday.

Youngsters ought to see “Tales of the Arabian Nights,” if only to avoid puzzlement in the unlikely event that Sheherazade pops up in a text message. Accompanying parents won’t experience bold theater, but they’ll see a show that’s competently executed and pleasingly brief. And they can feel good about exposing their offspring to a bit of culture.