“Dear Edwina Jr.,” described as “a musical comedy for kids,” recently completed a successful run at the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center in a production that was lively as well as tuneful.

Presented as part of the Jack Oakie Musical Theatre Workshop, Marcy Heisler and Zina Goldrich’s 1998 show is about a spunky 13yearold who enjoys giving advice and running homegrown musical shows out of her garage.

The “Junior” version of the show pares down the song list so that it fits a 60- to 80-minute time frame without an intermission and rescores the songs so they are in keys more suitable for young performers. Like many shows featuring schoolage children, two alternating casts are used (the “Red” cast and the “Blue” cast).

A popular property for schools, “Dear Edwina” is written in the style of “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” and “Schoolhouse Rock Live,” where kids can easily play the roles normally performed by adults.

“Dear Edwina” recently was nominated for two Drama Desk awards for most outstanding music and lyrics. And it’s no wonder.

The show is filled with effervescent, catchy numbers that encompass a variety of musical styles, including pop, rock, R&B and calypso. A cast CD was recently released by PS Classics.

Edwina Spoonapple is insecure about her talents but loves putting on musicals.

Her main hobby, giving advice to her friends, is the centerpiece of the show she puts on in her home town of Paw Paw, Mich.

Her fondest desire is to be part of the Advice-a-Palooza festival in nearby Kalamazoo.

The show-within-a-show features snappy performances by the large cast, but the story also follows Edwina’s offstage friendships and relationships.

In the Red cast version, Amanda Souza carries the show beautifully as Edwina. Her solo number “Up on the Fridge” serves as her “I am” song, in which she laments being the only member of her family without an award displayed on the refrigerator. Souza is charming and vulnerable in her difficult role; she’s onstage constantly and has her part down well.

Many in the large cast play multiple roles. Adam Souza (Amanda’s younger brother) steals the show as Billy and Frank.

A miniature ball of fire, Adam has the audiences in stitches whenever he delivers a line or makes an uproarious dance move.

As Scott, who’s hopelessly in love with Edwina, Michael Brown sports the clichés of his character type (horn-rimmed glasses and a sweater vest), but expands the role nicely when he shows another side to his personality, which helps endear him to Edwina by show’s end.

His spotlight number, “Frankenguest,” about party etiquette, is one of the high points of the show.

The other main characters include perky cheerleader Becky (Amanda Drewes), smoothassilk ballerina Kelli (Melissa Miller), new-kid-on-the-block Bobby (Joey Van Noppen) and Girl Scout cookie-selling champ Annie (Karly Johnson).

Musical director Jan Glasband and choreographer Becky Caselle did a terrific job working with the kids, who delivered all of their lines, sang the songs and performed their dance steps flawlessly.

In the show, moral lessons are dispensed in entertaining ways without being preachy, but chief among them is a line delivered by Edwina herself: “Don’t think about prizes; just do what you love.”

The Jack Oakie and Victoria Horne Oakie Foundation, which honors the late actor and comedian, is a living testament to this credo.

In a speech before the final performance, producer Glasband expressed her wish that the Jack Oakie Musical Theatre Workshop will expand on its summer youth program to include shows for the rest of the year.