Review: Gwydion Theatre's DRY POWDER at Greenhouse Theater Center

If you’ve ever wondered what a week at a private equity firm is like, there’s no need to obtain a finance degree and move to New York City. Simply stop by Greenhouse Theater Center to watch Gwydion Theatre Company’s production of Dry Powder, directed by Ellie Thomson, and find yourself in the throes of capitalism in action. 

We follow KMM Capital Management as they work on an acquisition deal of Landmark, a custom luggage manufacturing company. Coming off a spree of bad publicity concerning extravagant parties and massive layoffs, Seth (Grayson Kennedy) presents firm president Rick (Rick Yaconis) with a deal that would result in good PR and growth for the company. However, Jenny (Carol Kelleher) has a different idea, countering with plans to maximize profits and returns, no matter the cost. So begins the numbers war and verbal jousts as Seth and Jenny try to convince Rick to their side, backed by projections and a vague notion of morals, or the lack thereof. Jeff (Tommy Thams) is the CEO of Landmark who has been working with Seth and starts off with a great deal of optimism and hope as he tries to save jobs and do what’s best for his company. 

With a strong cast of four, Dry Powder falls nothing short of realistic. We’re immersed in the rapid pace of arguments and analysis interspersed with finance lingo and business jargon that gives you a headache as you try to follow and understand it all (unless you are actually in the finance world, in which case, you might feel like you’re transported back to your 9-5). Yaconis embodies a shrewd private equity company’s president perfectly from his mannerisms to tone. Kennedy and Kelleher’s snappy banter and digs at each other also captures the essence of coworker rivalry. Thams portrays Jeff as a relatively normal person that is a breath of fresh air after the suffocating business aura of KMM Capital.

It’s so easy to dislike everyone in this show, but they’re all nuanced in their perspectives and reasonings, and Sarah Burgess does a great job in her writing — and the cast in their acting — in giving these characters more than one dimension to avoid caricatures for the most part. While Jenny feels like the obvious antagonist, it’s also worth noting she is the only woman in the room, so I’m mindful of how we often perceive a woman in power as being too demanding or bossy, especially when she is assertive, knows what she wants, and speaks her mind. Seth even accuses her of a female advantage as they argue about who got the higher test score. Of course, gender dynamics do not excuse her mindset of class, which we get a better understanding of in Jenny’s closing monologue as she talks to some finance seniors at NYU. Her view of the relationship between success/worth and fault/blame and what one deserves is an obvious product of the “pull yourself up by the bootstrap” capitalist narrative that permeates our society — that being poor or even middle class is a moral failing of your own doing, not a result of any systemic inequality or capitalist oppression that helps the 1% get richer at our expense. This production balances those nuances delicately — even if you’re ultimately left feeling disappointed, dismayed, and disillusioned. 

The case against capitalism is strong in this play that puts the ruthless nature of free market conquest under the microscope of a very intimate stage. As Jenny rants about the working class and rails against unions, every absurd remark she makes is a depressing reminder of how many people actually feel this way. It’s sobering to realize that every single day, these discussions are happening in the skyscraper office buildings in Midtown Manhattan. Jobs and futures are weighed against a 2.8 vs. 3.5 projected return. The value of private equity pitted against the value of human dignity. Pain against profit. Us against them.

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