Loopiness rules in a classic turned nutty

The Kingdom of the Sweets gets a captivating makeover in “The MeshugaNutcracker,” playing at the Westside Jewish Community Center. By melding Tchaikovsky’s immortal melodies with Hanukkah, this lovingly loopy musical creates a treat for the whole family, regardless of their religious beliefs.

Co-created by director Scott Guggenheim, his wife, choreographer-lyricist Shannon Guggenheim, and musical director Stephen Guggenheim (Scott’s brother), “MeshugaNutcracker” pulls no punches. “Joy to the World” plays over the speakers, but the citizens of Chelm, the mythical shtetl of wise fools, are not buying it. In Richard S. Sanchez and Dana MacDermott’s tickling costumes (think Bob Mackie raiding a kosher kitchen), eight members of the world-renowned Theatre of Chelm assemble before a giant dreidel, framed by two menorahs.

They bemoan the surfeit of Christmas iconography, from shopping malls to telecasts: “ ‘Cause Santa has the last laugh/ This holiday lasts a month and a half!”

The next thing you know, the mega-dreidel splits open to reveal an endearing miniature stage (designed by Ben Naasz and Julie Engelbrecht). The familiar strains of “Waltz of the Flowers,” complete with synchronized-swimming arms, should herald “illustrious director” Golde Schlumperdinck. Alas, she has gone to university to seek higher wisdom, leaving “The Book,” from which all else follows.

What the Chelmniks devise according to their own devices has the unself-conscious charm of a grade-school pageant and the crowd-friendly zest of a superior Disneyland show. This is due equally to the concept, universal through specificity, and the delicious cast.

There is maternal Yetta Schmendrick (golden-voiced Gabrielle McColgan, wearing a necklace of bagels, and Rabbi Motke Schmerel (Anil Margsahayam, wryly puckish), sporting a colander derby. Mayor Gronam Schmegegi (wonderful Eric Starker) and wife Esther (Tania Johnson, channeling the young Phyllis Newman) try not to pull rank. Well, they try.

Dairywoman Rivka Schmuel (sensitive Laura Thiil Lehaff) and farmer Yacob Schlemiel (designer Sanchez, raucous and resonant) are opposite poles of shtick.

The youngest troupers are precocious Treitel Schlemazel (pert Sharon Guggenheim) and rambunctious Velvel Schnook (Austin Ku, a find).

Adapting stories by Eric A. Kimmel, Peninnah Schram and Steven M. Rosman to Tchaikovsky’s tunes, the libretto incorporates the history of Hanukkah and its celebration through the ages. Against Thomas Tomasello’s invigorating, klezmer-flavored orchestrations, Judas Maccabaeus’ triumphant saga, medieval fables and accounts of perseverance during the Holocaust emerge with a genuine sense of wonder.

There are perhaps a few too many variations on the hora in the clever dances, and some sequences have enough endings for three Borscht Belt seasons.

Yet the beautifully blended players display a ripe desire to show us as much fun as they are having.

More than the corny jokes (“To be, or Maccabee”), showbiz references (Chaplin and Groucho show up) or nonstop sight gags (doughnut tutus, latke hats), it is this high audience regard that makes “MeshugaNutcracker” such an enchanting festival of lighthearted glee and meaningful warmth.

*

‘The MeshugaNutcracker!’

Where: Westside Jewish Community Center, 5870 W. Olympic Blvd., L.A.

When: 7:30 p.m. today; 1 and 5 p.m. Sunday and Jan. 1; 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday

Ends: Jan. 1

Price: $18 to $36

Contact: (877) 456-4849

Running time: 2 hours