High finance gets skewered in Harlequin’s ‘Dry Powder’

“Dry Powder,” opening this weekend at Harlequin Productions’ State Theater, lays bare the world of high finance, where executives battle about the next big deal: Will they choose to make money and create American jobs — or make more money and forget about everyone else?

“We’re pulling back this curtain on how these giant deals are getting made,” said director Ann Flannigan, well known for her work on stage at Harlequin. “They impact all of us.”

Sarah Burgess’ 2016 morality play “is very relevant to our economic and political situation today,” said Aaron Lamb, Harlequin’s associate artistic director.

It’s also a comedy.

“It’s actually quite funny, and that is the surprise,” Flannigan told The Olympian. “It’s shrewd, it’s acerbic and it’s a rollicking romp through this world.”

The romp — or duel — begins when the play’s fictional private equity firm faces an image crisis: In the midst of massive layoffs, founding partner Rick (veteran actor/director Brian Tyrrell) has thrown a party so lavish that it involved an elephant.

In the chaos that ensues, junior partners Jenny (Helen Harvester, whose Harlequin roles include the similarly intense “Hedda Gabler”) and Seth (Brian Lewis) offer solutions and jockey for position.

It’s a one-act play, clocking in at around 100 minutes, so the machinations and manipulations don’t stop.

Neither does the banter. “If you are a fan of Aaron Sorkin-type witty, rapid, sharp dialogue, it is in this show,” Flannigan said. “I like when we launch into a play and we’re off to the races. That’s the kind of show this is.”

In fact, Burgess’ writing was a big part of what drew Flannigan to “Powder,” the first show she’s directed in about two decades. She’s she’s thrilled that Lamb offered it at a time when her schedule had room for the demands of directing.

“I just love great dialogue,” she said.

As the title — a reference to investment capital on hand — suggests, “Dry Powder” includes sometimes-arcane financial terms and a bit of a crash course in high finance.

It’s subject matter Flannigan is more qualified to navigate that most: She’s vice president of public relations for Washington State Employees Credit Union.

“I see it as a delightful coincidence,” she said of her work. “This is about a private equity firm in a PR crisis. It’s about finance at the other end of the continuum from a credit union, but there is something fun and delicious about exploring this territory that I have a relationship with through my day job.”

While her knowledge might help make the setting more realistic, Flannigan said her focus as a director is on telling the story and entertaining the audience.

She hopes to do more directing in the future, though her next project will see her back on stage in Harlequin’s “I Ought to be in Pictures,” the Neil Simon classic opening in January.

‘Dry Powder’

What: Harlequin Productions presents a biting comedy about the world of high finance and the lives of the 1 percent.

When: 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, plus Oct. 10-13, 18-20 and 25-27 with matinees at 2 p.m. Sunday, plus Oct. 14 and 21

Where: State Theater, 202 Fourth Ave. E., Olympia

Tickets: $35 general admission, $32 for seniors and military, $20 for students and youth; for the Oct. 10 show, pay what you can.

More information: 360-786-0151, harlequinproductions.org