A firecracker still has that pop at 88

At the beginning of “Betty Garrett: Closet Songwriter,” a world premiere musical revue at Theatre West, Garrett jokes about how her son advised her to reveal her age early on in the show, just for the hearty round of applause it would surely elicit.

At 88, Garrett gets points for sheer durability, but she also deserves high marks for undiminished wryness and charm. A fixture in 1940s MGM musicals, Garrett starred opposite Frank Sinatra in “On the Town” and “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” but her antecedents also include an early stint as a Martha Graham dancer and later roles on several television series, including “All in the Family” and “Laverne & Shirley.”

On a darker note, she’s also a survivor of the Hollywood blacklist, during which she and her husband, Larry Parks (“The Al Jolson Story”), plummeted from celebrity to unemployment. Undaunted, Garrett and Parks toured widely in England and managed to raise two sons along the way.

Although she’s lost a bit of bounce since her heyday, Garrett remains a vibrant personality who does it all in this show: singing, dancing and entertaining with sweetly sardonic patter. Several composers, including Garrett, contributed the music, but the lyrics have been written entirely by Garrett, a “closet songwriter” since her earliest memory. Many numbers display considerable wit and style. However, certain offerings from Garrett’s capacious closet should have been sent to Goodwill.

Garrett co-directed this cheerful but checkered enterprise with John Carter. Musical director Paul Chipello, who also contributes live piano accompaniment, ably backed by bassist Daren Burns, sometimes struggles to meld the bevy of disparate voices. The cast includes Jack Kutcher, Debra Armani, Robert W. Laur, Andy Taylor, Barbara Mallory and Lee Meriwether, also a fixture of 1970s television, who remains as easy on the eyes as she is impressively easeful in manner. Daniel Keough, vocally strong and charismatic, proves that gentlemen of a certain age can still be heartthrobs.

The theme of the show is really Garrett’s fascinating life, but she wanders off point too frequently. A few numbers, particularly two that Garrett wrote as assignments for a musical comedy workshop, seem impersonal and misplaced, while the syrupy “Bridges of Love,” though sincerely rendered, ends the proceedings on a weakly sentimental note.

When Garrett is at her most personal, her show resonates. Her percussive, blissfully silly rendering of “Boca Chica” is a highlight, while the beautiful and elegiac “Remember Me,” which Garrett wistfully addresses to her granddaughter, will certainly put a lump in your throat and a tear in your eye.

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‘Betty Garrett: Closet Songwriter’

Where: Theatre West, 3333 Cahuenga Blvd. West, Los Angeles

When: 8 p.m. Fridays to Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays

Ends: Nov. 18

Price: $35

Contact: (323) 851-7977, www .theatrewest.org

Running time: 1 hour, 50 minutes