Dry Powder NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (127)
See it if you're in the 99% and feelin' the Bern. Scathing, laugh-out-loud dialogue staged in the round, evoking the combat of a boxing/UFC ring.
Don't see it if you are (or aspire to be) the vampire squid and the pharmabros -- this show will bring on a world of butthurt.
See it if You love Claire Danes, love intimate off Bway houses, are involved in the economic politics of the day. Gripping characterization of greed.
Don't see it if You prefer a relaxed evening at the theater, do not want to question the morals of our times.
See it if you want a thought-provoking evening with famous actors who are damn fine at their craft
Don't see it if you are not into finance as a subject for a play (but it's not about finance)
See it if You want to see a drama destined to enter the pantheon of great American plays.
Don't see it if You want something comfortable and easy.
See it if interested in investment banking, love simple stories with great characters and acting
Don't see it if you're aggressively not interested in investment banking (the play might still be accessible, though -- it was to me!)
See it if you would like to see great acting in an intimate setting of actors you probably know.
Don't see it if too much information about economics gives you a headache.
See it if you like a funny, tight, engaging and well-constructed play, you are lucky enough to get tickets to the sold-out run.
Don't see it if you love to beat up Bernie bros.
See it if You enjoy great acting, modern plays, or comedies.
Don't see it if You prefer classic shows. If you don't understand finance you may be a little lost at points.
Critic Reviews (30)
"These people may live their jobs, but watching them do so does not have infinite appeal, unless you enjoy clucking at amorality for 100 minutes…If there’s an element of stiffness in Danes’s nonetheless tartly funny performance, it probably derives from a glaring lack of nuance in the character...For all its flashy talk, 'Dry Powder' mostly brings us the unsurprising news that the folks who work in the higher realms of high finance are very, very interested in making lots and lots of money."
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"The play's depiction of class and consciousness is more nuanced than it may seem at first. Burgess conveys not just the language of the high-stakes game she depicts—financial jargon is 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...'Dry Powder' feels extraordinarily timely."
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"What is troubling about 'Dry Powder' dramaturgically is that almost none of its crises or challenges arise from character. Rather, they arise from externally induced plot developments...That 'Dry Powder' is nevertheless a fully engrossing and entertaining play is a testament to Burgess’s terrific dialogue and to the beautifully paced and acted production...If only the excesses of our beautiful free-enterprise system were as amenable to correction as a promising young playwright’s!"
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"Burgess writes smart dialogue that crackles…There are echoes of Caryl Churchill and David Hare in the theme of corporate dehumanization...'Dry Powder' lacks the concision and the devastating rhythmic patois in Mamet plays, 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."
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"'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…Credit Burgess, a relative newcomer, for her fast-paced script…The play’s talk of leveraged buyouts and business lingo is ever accessible. Direction by Thomas Kail cranks the tension and entertainment value to the max…But superficial and stereotypical characters nag."
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"A frighteningly funny play…It falls to director Thomas Kail and his diamond-cut cast to make this dry subject enthralling and horrifying…Danes’ cool characterization of a businesswoman with ice in her veins is harsh, but very funny. The showdown between Jenny and Seth may seal the fate of Landmark Luggage, but it’s only the plot, not the point of this timely play, smartly directed by Kail with focus and efficiency."
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"Thoroughly unsurprising...That's disappointing, as a lot of A-grade talent has been assembled for this vigorously acted world premiere…The twisty financial details are mapped out with admirable clarity in Burgess' writing, but that doesn't make it any less predictable…Kail distills the drama into a fast, fat-free staging…The actors have a firm grasp of their characters and bring plenty of bite, which keeps it engrossing and often quite funny…But this is an unrewarding, one-dimensional play."
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"Sarah Burgess’ play doesn’t quite rise to the level of its deluxe cast and director. It takes a while to get going — too long. The show’s first half bogs down in pseudo-important business talk…Krasinski and Danes comfortably play to their strengths…But the show itself belongs to Azaria, who’s scarily believable as a manipulative Master of the Universe…You only wish the actors — and the playwright — toyed more with ambiguity. In the end, the characters do just what you’d expect of them."
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