The Chicago theater scene is vast and varied. Traditional and experimental shows alike always provide something new for every audience. It is rare, though, that a show comes along that breaks the mold entirely. This spring’s “Buyer & Cellar,” written by Jonathan Tolins and directed by Stephen Brackett, does so effortlessly and triumphantly. The production is a unique culmination of interactive, formal and electric, driven by tour-de-force Michael Urie, most widely recognized for his work on the hit television show “Ugly Betty.” The play is not your typical one-man show. It is hard to pinpoint just what it is that makes it so special, but this is not a production to be missed. It is an experimental feat that is easy to enjoy and difficult to forget.

The production chronicles the career of Alex Moore, a young actor struggling to hold down a job. When he stumbles into the opportunity to work as an

employee in Barbra Streisand’s underground mall, his life takes a complete turn. Alex Moore is completely fictional, though Streisand’s underground shopping center is not. Years ago, she documented it in a gaudy coffee-table book, and it is this strangely hilarious situation that propels the show’s comedy and poignancy. It bravely explores the territory where the ridiculous and the real collide.

The show begins as Urie steps onto the stage out of character with Streisand’s book in hand. He sits cross-legged stage right and leafs through its pages, reading excerpts of it to the audience and reflecting on the show that he is about to deliver. It is a strange level of familiarity to begin a show with, but it works like magic in “Buyer & Cellar.” Immediately, we know that we are not in for a typical theatrical treat. Urie invites us into the world that the production has created for us.

One of Urie’s most masterful feats in “Buyer & Cellar” is his ability to pop subtly, yet distinctly, between the characters of Alex and Barbra Streisand herself. The very idea of this transition seems laughable, but Urie accomplishes it seamlessly. His bounce between characters never wavers from the realm of his control. His impression excavates enormous and warranted laughs because of his meticulous mastery of it. It is simultaneously relaxed and nuanced; it is as if he is recounting his tale to an old group of friends.

It is only when the show has ended that one can begin to comprehend just how impressive the production Urie has presented us with truly is. The show is a collective effort between writer and director and producer and set-designer, but it is Urie who propels it. He delivers two hours of unending energy and technical finesse; while the production is visually and thematically unassuming, it ends up bombarding the audience with its heart in the best possible way. “Buyer & Cellar” is unexpected in every sense of the word and it is this novelty that makes it a treasure.

“Buyer & Cellar” will be at The Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place until June 15.