In an impressive production that could easily fit into a larger venue, the Snowlion Repertory Company has opened a premiere run of their ambitious, long-in-development musical “Mesmerized” at the Portland Ballet Studio Theater.

More than a dozen performers act and sing the true story of Dr. Franz Anton Mesmer, an 18th-century Viennese physician who claimed to have found a new treatment based on “animal magnetism.” His discoveries would eventually lead to the development of techniques such as hypnotism and other approaches to healing that have since been labeled “New Age.”

Led by Al D’Andrea (director and book), MK Wolfe (lyrics) and Darryl Curry (music), the creative team at Snowlion have taken this somewhat academic subject and produced an entertaining musical that speaks to the perennial question concerning what happens to people who promote ideas that threaten the establishment.

The costumes and set fit the period with wigs and finery revealing that this is about an elite controversy where powerful monarchs and rigid professional overseers hold sway. The music fits a general musical theater sensibility, enlivened by a slight classical overlay (Mozart even has a bit part).

Elements of domestic drama serve to personalize the lead characters, while questions of gender roles and appropriate behavior arise out of period views on ailments rooted in “hysteria,” as well as Mesmer’s very hands-on approach to treatment.

Alan Forrest McLucas takes the lead role of Mesmer and ably traverses the distance between his character’s belief in the “Invisible Fire” he has discerned within people and his doubts in the face of the mocking opposition of his peers.

McLucas’s vocal skills are best employed in tuneful storytelling, leaving the soaring moments of song to his singing partners and costars. Among those, Aaron Engebreth, as Mesmer’s colleague and “acolyte,” Rachel Grindle, as a blind patient who is made to see by Mesmer. and Kelly Caufield, as Mesmer’s devoted wife, are all standouts. Wolfe’s witty and poetic lyrics are stirringly lifted as these performers are more than able to cast a spell with Curry’s best melodies.

Comic relief is offered in commedia parodies performed by the ensemble. These provide a somewhat jarring but ultimately welcome relief to the bouts of melancholy depicted within the show. Elsewhere, smaller and larger groupings of performers weave appealing vocal harmonies and a bit of dance choreography also offers a pleasantly diverting moment in a show that wants to have some fun while still making serious points.

Musical accompaniment is provided by Nell Britton at the offstage piano for what is a tuneful trip back to a time when one man, though called an “eccentric quack,” committed to a consequential “act of faith.”

Steve Feeney is a freelance writer who lives in Portland.