At one point during the teen classic “Heathers,” a young girl steps under a bus. A killing loneliness has overtaken her, and she opts for the suicide craze sweeping the school. But she survives. “Just another case of a geek trying to imitate the popular people and failing miserably,” says one of the cruel-heart society who drove her to it. Sure, being a junior is hell. But “Heathers” had the right idea about high-school self-pity; it’s served best with a humorous cup of Drano.

In Julia Cho’s “BFE,” though, teen angst finally gets some respect. It’s a terrible mistake. Ms. Cho not only lets her 14-year-old heroine Panny mope and anguish over her appearance, her embarrassing family, and her feelings of ostracism, but she validates every last complaint. Ms. Cho doesn’t hint at the universality or transience of those feelings, never pokes a little well-deserved fun at Panny’s whining. By the end of her story, Panny (Olivia Oguma), will have suffered more horribly than most Updike characters – going under fate’s wheels again and again.

First, and, one is meant to feel, worst, Panny is Asian. Stranded out in one of the drier, browner Western states, she feels out of place and alone. Quoting from another teen classic, “Sixteen Candles,” the girl’s alienation begins when no one remembers her birthday. As a last-minute gift, her mother Isabel (Kate Rigg) offers plastic surgery. Though having work done certainly hasn’t done much to help Isabel, Panny’s bad self-image might lead her to it.

While Uncle Lefty (James Saito) begins a relationship at work and her mother has delusional attachment to the history channel (she thinks General MacArthur is pretty hot), Panny puts her toe into waters of love for the first time. A wrong number introduces her to Hugo (James McMenamin), and after she lies up about her age by four years, they start a phone flirtation. Of course, this will end in tears. But only the intercession of the town serial killer will tell us how many.

Panny, as the Unluckiest Kid in the World, could be the subject of a grating black comedy. But director Gordon Edelstein plays his cards straight. He choreographs the ensemble beautifully, but can’t quite steer them over Ms. Cho’s sentimental speed bumps.

Three of the players, however, manage to transcend the gluey mess around them. As Uncle Lefty’s shy romantic interest Evvie, Karen Kandel seems, at first, totally miscast. Simpering and shyness don’t come naturally to Ms. Kandel, but she still manages her scenes with Lefty with surprising grace. And as Panny’s Korean pen pal Hae Yoon – one of Ms. Cho’s dozen framing devices – Sue Jean Kim introduces a crucial note of levity.

But the evening’s most exciting discovery is Mr. McMenamin’s Hugo. Building a sympathetic, complicated fellow out of silly phone conversations, Mr. McMenamin generates the only real heat of the evening. Though serial rapists stalk the parking lots, nothing in the world of “BFE” feels very dangerous – except for Hugo’s floppy haired, sweetheart vulnerability.

Hugo, in a sea of bumbling fools, seems secretly wise. He admonishes Panny, in one of their earliest conversations, to appreciate the arid loveliness of their town. Even if Ms. Cho won’t let Panny lift her head, torturing her with gratuitous humiliations, Hugo and Mr. Kata, at least, can see the big picture.

Until June 12 (416 W. 42nd Street, between Ninth and Tenth Avenues, 212-279-4200).