Fabulation or, The Re-Education of Undine, Lyric Stage Company of Boston, through October 9. 617-585-5678 or lyricstage.com

Lynn Nottage has a knack for exploring the journeys of trusting women struggling with formidable obstacles. In the absorbing drama "Intimate Apparel," she insightfully examined the rising hopes and contrasting despair of a Southern African-American seamstress coping with the disappointments of a marriage to an unfaithful husband with whom she initially blossomed in correspondence.

Although "Fabulation or, The Re-Education of Undine"—now in a joyously entertaining area premiere by the Lyric Stage Company of Boston—centers on the very different disappointments of another ambitious Black woman, here, too, the heroine is trying to re-invent herself.

Undine, a Manhattan-based executive who means to give her public relations agency a patina of Vogue sophistication, finds that she is the proverbial last one to know that her charmer husband Herve has emptied their bank account and credit cards. Nottage imbues her growing disillusionment with effective humor as repo men remove her office property piece by piece—even the teak desk she loves. Eventually experiencing an anxiety attack and realizing that she is pregnant, she returns home to her native Brooklyn.

That return reveals Undine's original name Sharona and her early flight—after graduating Dartmouth—from her caring if unusual family in an initial attempt at personal re-invention. Complicating her situation even further is her lying that her family had perished in a fire. Very much alive, they all are dealing with their own challenges. Her father is broken all over and her mother is a diabetic. Her wheelchair-bound grandmother looks to heroine as a release from pain. Her brother Flow, a veteran from the Iraq war, is now a security guard at a Walgreen's. Ultimately Sharona will recognize the wisdom of her brother's contention that there is "no greater crime than abandoning your history."

During her journey of return to her history and that of her family, she confronts various stresses and mistakenly envies others' apparent successes. Nottage inserts clever satiric perceptions of social services and bureaucracy in that journey. At the same time, the inventive plotter has Herve receiving his comeuppance when he is discovered at the Ritz Carlton pretending to be a Uruguayan diplomat, who is actually at the hotel.

While Herve self-servingly claims that "We are ugly people," the Lyric Stage area premiere proves theatrically beautiful under Dawn M. Simmons' strong direction. Lyndsay Allyn Cox persuasively moves overconfident Undine to vulnerable but much more caring Sharona in a commanding performance. Jaime Jose Hernandez has all of Herve's slickness and new man Guy's remarkable sincerity. Sharmarke Yusuf captures Flow's passion and directness. Versatile Barlow Adamson brings nuance to a number of diverse roles—especially Undine's accountant and Sharona's obstetrician. Dayenne CB Walters catches Grandma's angst and her striking feistiness. Jenna McFarland Lord's scenic design smartly complements Undine's evolving journey. Michael Clark Wonson's lighting enhances both the highs and lows of the heroine's fortunes.

Nottage plays are as engaging as the best courses. The Lyric Stage makes "Fabulation" a must-attend.