Smart dialogue delivered at a brisk clip makes Dry Powder fit right into its Manhattan business office setting. The four-character play, now being staged by Gwydion Theatre, is the story of a private equity firm intent on buying a small west coast manufacturer. The 2016 satire by Sarah Burgess is directed by Ellie Thomson. The script tells what might be considered a complex story, but the dialogue is well written and the play offers humor as well as drama.
The scene is the office of KMM Capital Management, where Rick (Rick Yaconis) is the CEO. He’s meeting with Seth (Grayson Kennedy) and Jenny (Carol Kelleher) about a buyout deal that’s in the works. Seth, who knows the target firm’s owner, says he’s ready to deal at a price that’s low enough to appeal to KMM. Landmark, a luggage company, wants to become the “next Samsonite” by developing online sales. Seth believes they need to buy Landmark, increase revenue, then exit. Jenny has another idea, however, and proposes liquidation, offshoring production from California to Bangladesh. The two younger bankers are highly competitive and Rick lets it run because he thinks they’ll eventually get the best deal out of the competition between the two. “But don’t fall in love with details,” Rick tells Seth and Jenny. They discuss various other options, like nearshoring to Mexico instead of South Asia.
Meanwhile, Rick, who has become extremely wealthy running KMM, has a foundation that’s building a school for children in Bali, where he has a home. He’s sure that will save his reputation, which is now at risk because of protests that developed after a major layoff is announced at one of the KMM companies.
In a midtown bar, Seth meets Jeff (Tommy Thams), the CEO of Landmark, where his boss, the older chairman, wants to pull his own investment out to fund his retirement. Selling to KMM will enable Landmark to do that. Jeff reiterates to Seth that his goal is taking care of the Landmark workforce. The story continues but doesn’t end happily for everyone.
Dry Powder moves fast and has a lot of PE/finance jargon. (Like the title, for instance. “Dry powder,” which is mentioned only once, refers to liquid assets like short-term investments and Treasury bonds.) The meaning of any term is usually easy enough to catch in the context of the play, so don’t let that deter you from seeing this play.
Burgess’ script is well written with sharp dialogue. The four actors are up to the task and quite believable in their roles. Yaconis as Rick has the right senior executive attitude and style and does his best to keep the two newer bankers inspired and mobilized. Kennedy as Seth, who Rick considers a wunderkind, is in stiff competition with Kelleher’s ambitious Jenny, who never hesitates to tell Seth she knows more than he does.
One small flaw: Kelleher talks a little too fast. She’s a bit hard to understand at the beginning before you get into the rhythm of her speech. Thomson, whose direction is otherwise well-paced, might try to smooth out the speed of her dialogue a little.
Overall, the private equity topic seems a little dated, although it’s certainly worth remembering how that approach affected many companies caught up in the “smash and grab” economy. The success of PE firms reached its height in the early teens and then tailed off during the pandemic. You can read about its history in this Mother Jones article, which predictably takes a negative view of PE, and also a later summary in the New York Times.
KMM Capital Management might remind you of KKR, a PE firm that put together the 1980s RJR Nabisco deal that was dramatized in the book and film, Barbarians at the Gate. (I was working for a subsidiary of RJR and later for a management consulting firm at that time, and the KKR deal was a hot topic for discussion.) Playwright Burgess says that part of her research for Dry Powder was reading Barbarians at the Gate.
Dry Powder by Gwydion Theatre Company continues at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., through July 26. Running time is about 110 minutes including one intermission. Tickets ($30) and more information are available on the Greenhouse website.
For more information on this and other productions, see theatreinchicago.com.
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