Review Roundup: DRY POWDER, Starring John Krasinski and Claire Danes, Opens at The Public

The Public Theater presents the world premiere play Dry Powder by Sarah Burgess, directed by Thomas Kail. Part of Oskar Eustis' 10th Anniversary season, this deliciously funny new drama about the people shaping, and skewing, the American economy has been extended a final week to Sunday, May 1, with an official press opening tonight, March 22.

The complete cast of Dry Powder (definition: the current amount of capital available to private equity investors) features Hank Azaria (Rick), Claire Danes (Jenny), Sanjit De Silva (Jeff Schrader), and John Krasinski (Seth).

The same week his private equity firm forced massive layoffs at a national grocery chain, Rick threw himself an extravagant engagement party, setting off a publicity nightmare. Fortunately, Seth (John Krasinski), one of Rick's partners, has a win-win deal to invest in an American-made luggage company for a song and rescue his boss from a PR disaster. But Jenny (Claire Danes), Seth's counterpart, has an entirely different plan: to squeeze every last penny out of the company, no matter the consequences.

Let's see what the critics had to say...

Charles Isherwood, The New York Times: Ms. Burgess's grasp of the jargon of high finance is impressive...Still, "Dry Powder" -- the title refers to available investment capital on hand -- takes a long time to move beyond mildly entertaining verbal fisticuffs between Jenny and Seth and dizzying instruction in high-end deal making. These people may live their jobs, but watching them do so does not have infinite appeal...If there's an element of stiffness in Ms. Danes's nonetheless tartly funny performance, it probably derives from a glaring lack of nuance in the character...Mr. Krasinski is excellent as Seth...Mr. Krasinski nicely conveys Seth's ambivalence about leaving his comfortable berth...Mr. Azaria's Rick is a convincing portrait of a cold-eyed, moneyed titan...

Marilyn Stasio, Variety: What language are these people speaking, anyway? The equity traders in Sarah Burgess' frighteningly funny play, "Dry Powder," converse in the private jargon of the financial industry. But it doesn't take long to get the gist...In the play's world premiere at the Public Theater, it falls to director Thomas Kail ("Hamilton") and his diamond-cut cast to make this dry subject enthralling and horrifying.

David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter: Although [Kail's] production of Dry Powder is as sharp as the dialogue, cheekbones and immaculately tailored power suits of its three main characters, this rather obvious work by Sarah Burgess revolves around the not exactly startling revelation that private equity firms are no place for the faint of heart. While the title refers to cash reserves, it could just as easily describe the dramatic substance of the play's blunt economics lesson...Kail distills the 100-minute drama into a fast, fat-free staging in the round...His careful blocking reflects each character's respective command of the situation, from Rick's cagey authority to Jenny's snaky antagonism and Seth's stubborn integrity...But this is an unrewarding, one-dimensional play that requires no visual metaphor to reinforce its depiction of a cold, mercenary world without moral solace.

Adam Feldman, Time Out NY: ...Thomas Kail's intimate, in-the-round production at the Public Theater uses its famous cast to smart effect. Krasinski's signature affability sets us squarely on Seth's side at the start -- occasional hints of awkwardness in his stage debut may even work to his benefit -- and stands in stark contrast to Danes's satirically icy character...Burgess conveys not just the language of the high-stakes game she depicts -- financial jargon are woven nimbly into the snappy dialogue -- but also the differing mindsets of its players...The play makes sharp points about the power and limitations of protesters, but its focus is on Wall Streeters' view of themselves...In an election year that has seen a ferocious outpouring of anti-oligarchical sentiment, Dry Powder feels extraordinarily timely.

Linda Winer, Newsday: Danes still doesn't always know what to do with her hands, but she moves like a dancer, which she has been, and she uses her flat voice to terrific advantage as Jenny, the abrasive, caustic, soulless young co-founder of a private equity firm. In contrast, the 95-minute drama, by newcomer Sarah Burgess, is just a minor addition to the capitalist-as-shark literature -- less giddy with style than "Glengarry Glen Ross" and "Serious Money," less probing than "The Big Short" and "Billions." The Public Theater...has devoted impressive acting and directing resources to this taut but talky and ultimately unremarkable work.

Robert Kahn, NBC New York: In Burgess' world premiere...the trio of actors make for a heartless team of icy finance execs looking to wring every penny out of any company they can get their hands on. There are, it turns out, varying degrees of callousness to be explored in this universe, and that's where "Dry Powder" sinks its claws...Watching Danes and Kransinki lob insults at one another for 95 minutes is nearly entertainment enough...It's Danes, though, who made off with my heart...I can't recall a female playwright in recent memory crafting such a nasty, robotic female character, yet Jenny has an essential honesty: She's not coy about being ruthless. "Dry Powder" evokes films like "Wall Street," posing questions about whether we're all just looking out for our own self-interest.

Matt Windman, AM New York: Are the people in control of powerful financial institutions oblivious to the consequences that their data-driven decisions have on the rest of society? Do they know and just not care? Or, alternatively, do they have some concern but not enough to actually change things? These are the questions posed by the relatively unknown playwright Sarah Burgess in her timely comedic drama "Dry Powder"...The text, which is stuffed with insider financial terminology, can be repetitive and didactic. But in Kail's sleek, spare, in-the-round staging, it makes for a high-powered debate on contemporary business ethics...Danes' combative, unapologetic and socially clueless Jenny plays off Krasinski's indecisive Seth, who wants to do the right thing but lacks the courage. Caught in the middle is Azaria's angst-ridden and easily tempted Rick.

Joe Dziemianowicz, New York Daily News: "Dry Powder" is a dramedy about finance dusted with cynicism that's an inch thick. That's about as deep as Sarah Burgess' slick, timely, well-acted but predictable play goes. Hank Azaria is Rick, head of a prominent private equity firm in a public-relations free fall...The play consists mostly of a cage match between Seth's caricatured partners, who seek to solve the P.R. crisis. Seth (John Krasinski, terrific in his stage debut), who's married with a baby on the way, urges Rick to invest in -- and sustain -- an American family luggage company. Supercompetitive Jenny (Claire Danes, robotic as required) pushes Seth to buy the suitcase biz -- and then mercilessly squeeze it to make a bigger buck. Credit Burgess, a relative newcomer, for her fast-paced script...Direction by Thomas Kail ("Hamilton") cranks the tension and entertainment value to the max...

Elisabeth Vincentelli, New York Post: It's always nerve-wracking to watch TV stars venture out onstage. Can they manage without multiple takes and craft services? Does the magic happen in the editing room? Happily, Claire Danes ("Homeland"), John Krasinski ("The Office") and Hank Azaria (..."The Simpsons") don't embarrass themselves in "Dry Powder" -- and there's nowhere to hide, since the show's staged in the round. Sarah Burgess' play, on the other hand, doesn't quite rise to the level of its deluxe cast and director (Thomas Kail, of "Hamilton"). It takes a while to get going -- too long of a while.

Jeremy Gerard, Deadline: Burgess writes smart dialogue that crackles, and the play is peppered with authentic finance-guy terms like "quartile." There are echoes of Caryl Churchill and David Hare in the theme of corporate dehumanization, though Burgess, like David Mamet, say, is more focused on the soulless principals than on the folks who will suffer the consequences of their actions. Dry Powder lacks the concision and the devastating rhythmic patois in Mamet plays like Glengarry Glen Ross and Speed-The-Plow, a ruthless poetry. That makes for a very long unbroken hour and three-quarters...I suspect the actors will loosen up as the run continues, but at the critics' performance I saw they seemed uncomfortable and stiff, as if exploring the play in an early reading. Danes and Krasinski especially seem ill at ease, lurching where a shark-like, confident quickness is called for.

Robert Hofler, TheWrap: In the movies, Tilda Swinton and Cate Blanchett have given nuance to this kind of ball-busting gorgon. Danes does not. She fidgets almost uncontrollably. She punctuates every other word with a gesture, a grimace, or a popping of the eyes. Azaria and Krasinski are far more relaxed on stage, to the point that a peculiar subtext emerges. Are Burgess and Kail saying that men wear power naturally, while a woman like Jenny has to huff, puff, and flail to get her way? Azaria isn't required to do much except be gruff and play referee. Krasinski exudes such warmth and humor that Seth's real motives remain cloaked in a wonderful ambivalence. His intentions can't be pure, but he keeps us guessing.

Christopher Kelly, NJ.com: Azaria initially seems too measured to be a corporate shark, until you realize his is the species of shark that only gradually bares its teeth. Danes does very well playing a variation on her "Homeland" character, all tightly coiled mania and sheer incredulity when others refuse to see things her way. The revelation here, though, is Krasinski, making his stage debut. He illuminates and even generates sympathy for a very tricky character - a smart, ambitious man who may no longer be able to convince himself that his actions are decent. Directed by Thomas Kail..."Dry Powder" races to a wry, note-perfect conclusion...The future's so grim, Burgess seems to be saying, that all you can do is laugh.

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Photo Credit: Joan Marcus