Generations of West Virginian men have scratched out a life by mining coal from local mountains, including Jake, whose father perished in a work-related disaster ten years ago. When the local company re-opens the infamous South Mountain Mine, Jake’s 14-year-old brother Pete rallies his friends to battle for the memory of his dad (who he never really knew, yet somehow resembles all the heroes from his favorite movie, The Alamo) as Jake fights to save his own future as team foreman.

The new coming-of-age musical THE BURNT PART BOYS is something of a cousin to Playwrights Horizons’ 1996 landmark production of Floyd Collins (with additional nods to films like Stand By Me and The Goonies). Both unconventional shows concern themselves with underground catastrophies and their effect on those above the surface; both BURNT PART and Collins debuted under the same roof (though BURNT PART is a co-production with The Vineyard Theatre); both twist traditional Appalachian music on its ear with intricate, harmonically complex scores of blazing theatricality (with marvelous orchestrations by Bruce Coughlin); and both productions mark auspicious debuts for their songwriters.

Just as Floyd Collins’ Adam Guettel went on to create The Light in the Piazza, the BURNT PART songwriting team of Chris Miller (music) and Nathan Tyson (lyrics) have a similarly bright future ahead of them. Their haunting bluegrass-inflected score runs the gamut from charming children’s game-like ditties to raw heartbreaking meditations to open-throated anthems. Under the assured music direction of Vadim Feichtner and his six-piece band, the songs alternately break the heart and the funnybone.

The writers are aided by a fantastic company, headed by young Al Calderon, who essays the devilishly difficult role of Pete with ease as he carries the show on his small shoulders. As his older brother Jake, Charlie Brady successfully conveys the pain of being forced to grow up too soon in the searing aria “I Made That.” Pete’s softie pal Dusty (Noah Galvin) is an audience favorite with many of the show’s funniest lines (someone, please cast Galvin in a revival of Falsettos soon, before his voice changes!). Director Joe Calarco’s incisive staging perfectly captures the chasm between childhood idealism and adult responsibilities, as ladders, chairs and ropes become treacherous mountain ledges – Pete and his friends’ playtime is deadly serious business for Jake.

The story takes place nearly a half-century ago, but THE BURNT PART BOYS is surprisingly, disarmingly modern. Though the musical has been in development for nearly a decade, parallels to the recent mining disaster in West Virginia are undeniable. And the characters’ primary debate – treating the mountain as a shrine versus actually using the land for practical purposes – are eerily prescient of New York’s recent conflicts over the use of the area around the World Trade Center. If you squint, the show’s chorus, four spectral miners covered in soot, could be a quartet of New York’s bravest.

The performance schedule for THE BURNT PART BOYS is Tuesday through Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 2:30pm and 8pm, and Sundays at 2:30pm and 7:30pm. Tickets, $70, may be purchased online via TicketCentral.com, by phone at 212.279.4200 (noon-8pm daily), or in person at the Ticket Central box office, 416 West 42nd Street (between Ninth and Tenth Avenues).