‘Understudy’ captures powerlessness, persistence

Who, in recession-era America, doesn’t feel vulnerable and disposable? (“The Understudy’’ premiered in 2008 at the Williamstown Theatre Festival.) That universality lends an unexpected emotional resonance to Rebeck’s characters as they grapple with forces beyond their control. The Lyric production is directed by Larry Coen, who is also a Boston actor of note. Coen brings to “Understudy’’ a keen eye for the vagaries, absurdities, and serial humiliations of an actor’s life — from which, we will see as “Understudy’’ unfolds, even movie stars are not exempt.

The movie star in question is Jake (Kelby T. Akin), who specializes in action films. His most recent movie was a blockbuster, thanks, seemingly, to his ability to flex his pectorals while delivering the deathless line: “Get in the truck!’’

Now he has come to Broadway to perform in a newly discovered play by none other than Franz Kafka. But, in a status point that will eventually become all too pertinent, Jake is lower in the Hollywood food chain than Bruce, another action-movie star (not seen during “The Understudy’’) who has top billing in the Kafka play.

The presence of either of them in the theater is an affront to Harry (Christopher James Webb), an embittered stage actor who has been hired as Jake’s understudy. He informs Jake that the invasion of movie stars on Broadway is a “disease,’’ a “pathology,’’ nay, an “ongoing cultural disaster.’’

Caught in the middle is Roxanne (Laura Latreille), who is no stranger to professional insecurity and disappointment, either. Indeed, the stage manager is a former actress who, though talented, decided to turn to a more stable line of work. She also has ample justification for having a short fuse when it comes to all things Harry, given that they had been engaged years earlier and he took a powder shortly before the wedding.