"Dry Powder" by Dark and Stormy Productions at Grain Belt Warehouse

After two pretty dark and devastating plays about suicide ('Night, Mother) and child abuse/kidnapping (Blackbird), Dark and Stormy returns to comedy with the regional premiere of the new play Dry Powder. It's still dark, and not exactly light-hearted since it features some pretty horrible people working in the cutthroat world of finance, but it is funny. I didn't understand a lot of the terms and acronyms being thrown around, but I am familiar with layoffs and buyouts. Either way it's less about the business world than it is about how these four characters function within this world. As always with Dark and Stormy, there are great performances by a terrific small cast, seen up close and personal in their small studio space, with tight and clear direction (here by Michaela Johnson). It's not so much a forget your troubles kind of comedy, more of a laugh at the troubles of the world because if you don't you'll cry.

"Blackbird" by Dark and Stormy Productions at Grain Belt Warehouse

Don't let the Christmas lights strung across the ceiling fool you, Dark and Stormy's Blackbird is not a feel-good holiday play. Which is why it's a great choice for right now, if you need a break from the sugary sweet holiday fare (I myself have seen 11 holiday shows so far, with a few more on the schedule next week). Written in 2005, Blackbird is a brutal play about a woman confronting her abuser, 15 years after he raped and kidnapped her at the age of 12 (she may have gone willingly, but she was still a child). Yes, it's a difficult one to watch, but with painfully real performances by the two-person cast, in the intimate environment of Dark and Stormy's Northeast Minneapolis studio space, it's worth the effort.