Daniel Talbott Tony (Bryan Kaplan) and Dina (Melody Bates).

Four wildly different characters make up the cast of Eightythree Down, an airtight thriller-comedy written by J. Stephen Brantley, directed by Daniel Talbott and now playing at Under St. Marks. First we meet Martin. Even during the raucous, drug-riddled eighties, he’s content to spend New Year’s Eve at his parents’ house, reading about birds (his obsession) in his quilted bed. A Cyndi Lauper poster on the wall and Duran Duran on the stereo hint at the year that’s about to pass – 1983. But crashing into this subdued suburban New York scene comes his old high-school friend Dina, played by a dynamic Melody Bates. She’s accompanied by her East Village roommates: Stuart (Ian Holcomb) is a gay English punk-rocker, and Tony (Bryan Kaplan) is his beefcake Italian-American polar opposite. The only thing these “silly boys” have in common is their love for Dina.

Clad in black leather, the half-brilliant, half-batty blonde (clearly a student of Madonna) bounces between the arms of Stuart and Tony while making her best effort to bring Martin up to speed on her new life. She is friends with a transvestite named Sal as well as with Keith Haring and Basquiat. The producer Jellybean Benitez recently encouraged her to “work on herself.”

“It’s all been such a whirligig,” she giggles, but Martin, whom she affectionately dubs Smarty, smells an ulterior motive. Indeed, the trio is in a “treacherous pickle”: During a heated Scrabble dispute, they shot a man and stole his uncle’s prized book collection. They now plan to sell the books and hightail it to Mexico, and all they need is a car – namely, Martin’s father’s convertible, which Dina remembers so fondly from their high school days. And if Martin knows what’s good for him, Tony threatens while brandishing a gun, he won’t get in their way.

Between Stuart’s fast-paced innuendo, Dina’s train-wreck charm, and Tony’s violent (and at times overacted) outbursts, Martin barely gets a word in, except to accuse Dina of being an “interruptive species.” But in the end, her mess of a life — violent, dangerous but filled with love – urges him to start his own. His transformation carries the emotion and climax of the play.

Reminiscent of a John Hughes movie but with more depth and wit, Eightythree Down turns out to be a subtle coming-of-age story, and a New Year’s Eve party not to be missed.

“Eightythree Down” at Under St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place) through Sept. 17. Tickets $18. Visit www.horsetrade.info or call 212-868-4444.