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Snow White is a fairytale well known around the world thanks largely to the classic 1937 Disney film. Before that cinematic achievement, however, Snow White was a popular fable made famous as one in a collection of stories gathered by the Brothers Grimm. In the original German, the title is Scheewittchen und die Sieben Zerge. English translation: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

That tallish tale of a vain queen who requires regular confirmation from her royal, loyal mirror that she is “the most beautiful of all” and becomes jealous when the reflective accessory confesses that the Queen’s sixteen year-old daughter, Snow White, is now the top-draw gorgeous one in the kingdom is now being staged by Theatre West’s Storybook Theatre,  in Hollywood. This contemporized, musicalized delight of a show is especially geared toward children, ages three to nine, but the biggest laughs often come from the appreciative adults in the audience.

Resourcefully directed by Barbara Mallory Schwartz and Lloyd J. Schwartz, Scott Martin’s adaptation of the Snow White parable is nicely and naturally combined with a pleasing score by Richard Berent and cheery, cheeky lyrics by Rob Meurer (I’m So Beautiful is, of course, the Queen’s catchy but immodest anthem). Though Martin, Berent, and Meurer have laid a firm ground plan for this musical staging of Snow White, it is the indefatigable cast of four that invigorates and exhilarates this most interactive of live entertainments.

Susan Morgenstern brings Carol Burnett to mind in her witty portrayal of the Queen. Leaving a memorable vocal calling card and with a face most flexible, Morgenstern is a theatrical gem. Catlin Gallogly imbues her performance as Snow White with wholesomeness and can-do femininity. Gallogly also adds a loveable layer of mental density to her characterization of Snow White that is surprisingly endearing.

Unlike the 1912 Broadway play, also titled Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, wherein all seven dwarfs are given names (for the first time in the story’s long history), this version of “Snow White” has only a single dwarf onstage — unless you include the various children who are called onstage many times throughout the hour and fifteen minute presentation (with one ten minute break) to play the many “extra” roles this participatory production calls for. That dwarf has a nondescript name, Fred. But, there’s nothing nondescript about Anthony Gruppuso, whose performance brings Fred to life in a dance-intense incarnation of this singularly sizeable dwarf.

Paul Dennison is a multifaceted performer doing double duty as the Queen’s magical mirror and the Handsome Prince. Dennison’s rendition of I Need a Wife is made hilarious by the actor’s subtle innuendo and obvious obtuseness.

Together this quartet of actors is easily among the hardest working ensembles in show business. Kudos to their well crafted characterizations. Moreover, this Snow White sets a high standard in the annals of Children's Theater, but people of all ages will surely enjoy it.

Storybook Theatre’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs continues at Theater West – 3333 Cahuenga Boulevard, Hollywood (near Universal City) – through February 25. Show times are at 1 p.m. on Saturdays. The production is also available for birthday party bookings and school fieldtrips. For reservations and further information dial (818) 761-2203, or visit HYPERLINK "http://www.theatrewest.org" www.theatrewest.org.