It’s always nerve-wracking to watch TV stars venture out onstage. Can they manage without multiple takes and craft services? Does the magic happen in the editing room? Happily, Claire Danes (“Homeland”), John Krasinski (“The Office”) and Hank Azaria (probably best known for voicing Moe, Apu and Chief Wiggum on “The Simpsons”) don’t embarrass themselves in “Dry Powder” — and there’s nowhere to hide, since the show’s staged in the round. Sarah Burgess’ play, on the other hand, doesn’t quite rise to the level of its deluxe cast and director (Thomas Kail, of “Hamilton”). It takes a while to get going — too long of a while. The show’s first half bogs down in pseudo-important business talk. Partners in a private-equity firm, Danes’ Jenny and Krasinski’s Seth compete for the attention of their alpha-male boss, Rick (Azaria). The company’s in the middle of a p.r. fiasco, having announced layoffs the same day Rick threw himself a lavish engagement party. Seth’s solution to improve optics: Buy and prop up a floundering American-based luggage company. Jenny suggests “nearshoring” the manufacturing of said luggage to Mexico — and to hell with American workers losing their jobs. Krasinski and Danes comfortably play to their strengths. Seth is a sympathetic Labradoodle of a man, with round edges under his sharp suit. Meanwhile the steely Jenny has a better grasp on numbers than on human emotion. Her inability to read people is so extreme, you wonder how she’s able to handle meetings. But the show itself belongs to Azaria, who’s scarily believable as a manipulative Master of the Universe. Deceptively accessible, yet ruthless, there’s never any question Rick hates anything other than winning. 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. Equally predictable with such star power, demand is far outpacing supply: “Dry Powder” sold out its run before opening.
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