Dry Powder
We're eight years removed from the crippling financial crisis of our age, yet few people understand what happened. What are "financial products," and what kinds of financial services do people in finance provide? I could give you a jaded and cynical answer, but instead I'll focus on the finance people at the center of Sarah Burgess 's new play, Dry Powder . (If you do want an in-depth look at the financial crisis, read Matt Taibbi's Griftopia .) The title is a finance term referring to liquid assets or a cash-on-hand fund. Unlike restricted funds, dry powder can be used on short notice and for a variety of purposes, whatever the finance people, like the private equity folks of Dry Powder , deem a worthy investment. Burgess is clever, though, and throughout her smart, sharp play, it seems dry powder can refer to not just funds that are expendable, but people, too. Rick ( Hank Azaria ) is the founder of a private equity (PE) firm, and Jenny ( Claire Da...