Consumed by an obsession to find your birth mother, while plagued by a serious case of obsessive compulsive disorder and some pesky agoraphobia to boot. What’s a poor girl to do? Clearly, it’s time to build a robot.

That’s the conceit behind The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow, the witty and moving production by the The Studio Theatre Secondstage team, now on the Milton Theatre stage through the end of the month. The play focuses on troubled genius Jennifer Marcus (Eunice Wong), an exceptional young woman hampered by severe mental problems. Jennifer’s small universe consists of her father (David Rothman), an affectionate, everyman former fireman who spends his hours with his binoculars at the ready, alerting former coworkers to fires he spots from his home; her mother (Charlotte Akin), a neurotic, overworked alcoholic whose patience with Jennifer’s condition has worn thin; and her best friend Todd (James Flanagan), a well-meaning pizza deliveryman with a great deal of unconditional admiration for his frustrating friend.

When accomplishing her goals, Jennifer’s agoraphobia forces her to go to strange lengths, including trading sexual favors for research help from a spiritually confused Mormon (Cameron McNary) and getting a gig re-engineering missile components for the U.S. government when she can’t handle a job at the mall. When her illness keeps her from learning more about her Chinese birthmother, she enlists the help of a kooky scientist (McNary again) to create an android version of herself (Mia Whang) to get the job done.