Gordon Schwinn, the lead character in William Finn’s “A New Brain“, is fighting to stay alive from the moment he first sets foot on stage. The musical, which is being given an invigorating, insightful local production by Plays & Players, follows Gordon as he faces hospitalization and surgery for a seemingly terminal brain defect, all while struggling to continue his craft of songwriting and balance his fraying relationships. Just another fun-filled evening of singing and dancing, right?

I chose to see Plays & Players superb production last Thursday and, subject matter be-damned, I did have fun. A great deal of it. Indeed, I found myself thinking fondly of the musical and its characters days after seeing the show. I found myself humming Finn’s simple melodies or chuckling at a particularly charming line. I remembered the journeys of the characters toward an ultimately (spoiler alert) happy end with the fondness of a friend. I felt, I suppose, close to the people Finn chooses to populate the stage. No surprise there—the show is presented at Plays & Players partially in the round, with the audience on stage alongside the performers. It’s hard not to feel close. And that, for me, was the crux of the experience. “A New Brain” was funny, dramatic and frightening; most of all, it was, as lead actor Brendan Norton put it in an interview, “wildly intimate.”

Norton, who gives an extraordinary, passionate performance in the central role, continued, “we, as a cast, are constantly aware of our spatial relationship to the audience… it’s so visceral to be able to look into their eyes and instantly get feedback—their laughter, their delight.” The reverse is true, as well. Being eye to eye with a character trying to come to grips with his mortality, being so close to a performer that you have to move your leg to keep them from tripping: these adjustments in staging conspire with the content of this wonderful musical to pack an emotional punch. While the impetus for the show is trouble with the brain, the driving force behind it is a madly beating heart.

Finn, an out Tony Award winner best known for “Falsettoland” and “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee”, wrote “A New Brain” after recovering from arteriovenous malformation, a brain defect. The show, which is largely sung-through, hovers always between the gravely real and the fantastically interior. Scenes lurch from reveries deep inside Gordon’s subconscious mind to stoic conversations in the hospital with those he loves most—his mother, his best friend and his partner, Roger. It’s this last relationship that is perhaps most deftly drawn and, consequently, so affecting. Though both actors appear to be in their mid-20s—Dan Plehal plays Roger with effortless charm—they imbue their characters’ relationship with a lived-in sense of ease that takes years to develop. “The main relationship between Gordon and Roger is remarkably simple and truthful and delightfully not about them being gay,” noted the play’s director Daniel Student, who is also the Artistic Director of Plays & Players. Student continued, “It’s just two people who have been with each other for a long time and are, in many ways, opposites but have found their own way to co-exist. We should all be so lucky.”

It’s refreshing indeed, to see a relationship—particular a same-sex relationship—that is functional, happy and secure. It’s arguably the most secure one on stage. Though Gordon is supported by his best friend, Rhoda (the immensely talented Sara Schmuckler), it is only when Roger glides on-stage in the ingeniously choreographed ballad “Sailing” that a sense of relief washes over the frantic proceedings.

The peace lasts only a few verses, however, for Gordon’s malfunctioning brain sends him veering in and out of chaotic reality. “As his brain ‘blips’,” Students said, “he can only rationalize this thoughts as we do in our dreams, a bizarre combination of the people and experiences of his recent and distant past and the dreary present of him being stuck in his hospital room.” This precarious state is smartly reflected in Finn’s songs, which vary wildly in tone, topic and style seemingly at random. Student noted, “since the songs were written and then pieced together to make a show, and they are based on real life experiences, the show tends to jump from topic to topic or storyline to storyline, without a clear narrative arc.”

With the pretense of traditional structure stripped away, the meaning and import of the songs becomes even more prominent. The function of a song in a musical is to give voice to a character’s inner monologue and emotional journey. Finn’s songs—here and elsewhere—go a step further, swan-diving into the deepest emotional crevices, illuminating his characters’ darkest fears, most gnawing aches, itchiest neuroses and greatest joys. Without a filter, and without the distance of a proscenium stage or footlights, “A New Brain” exposes its characters to this most thorough subconscious x-ray and the result is stunning.

For a performer, the effect seems to be just as great. “You don’t often find a composer who’s willing to write such daring musical fare,” Norton said. “[I] was just awed by his bravery at churning out his life story so unabashedly. And by all the gorgeous, insane moments within.”

“A New Brain” has one more weekend left in its run and this uniquely powerful experience should not be missed. The level of intimacy that this production achieves leaves no room for hedging or falseness in the performances and the able cast is more than up to the task. For all of its heady subject matter and simple presentation, it’s one of the more uplifting evenings I’ve had at the theater in a long time.

“A New Brain” runs January 26 at 7:30 p.m. and 27-29 at 8p.m. at Plays & Players Mainstage, 1714 Delancey Place. Visit playsandplayers.org for more information.