'POTUS': Funny girls unleashed

‘POTUS’: Vanessa Williams & Julie White. Photo: Paul Kolnik.

POTUS: OR, BEHIND EVERY GREAT DUMBASS ARE SEVEN WOMEN TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE
Written by Selina Fillinger
Directed by Susan Stroman
Through August 14, 2022
Shubert Theatre
225 West 44th Street
(212-239-6200), https://potusbway.com

By David NouNou

Did you ever wish you could go to the theatre to see a ludicrous farce that will leave you at times laughing hysterically? No hidden messages here, no agendas, a minimal plot that is so absurd that you don’t care; you just want to laugh because the times we live in are so stressful. Such a play exists. It’s called POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive.

It is difficult to discuss the plot because it is so convoluted. You have to go see it for yourself to make sense of it. No need to tell you any more than what the title of the show states. Now, there’s no particular president or first lady in this show. Loosely based on our recent American history, the characters are really amalgams and composites of presidents and first ladies and West Wing staff. Playwright Selina Fillinger cleverly lets you decide for yourself who you want them to be, and that makes the show all the more enjoyable.

As you know, no president can run the country by himself; it’s the women behind the scenes that keep him alive. In this instance there are seven women working very hard to accomplish their mission. There is the president’s wife, Margaret (Vanessa Williams); Chief of Staff, Harriet (Julie White); Press Secretary, Jean (Suzy Nakamura); White House Correspondent, Chris (Lilli Cooper); the president’s out-there, outrageous sister, Bernadette (Lea Delaria); office assistant, Stephanie (Rachel Dratch). Of course, there is always a beautiful mistress, Dusty (Julianne Hough). These women really work very hard at their jobs and the fun of the play is how they interact with each other. By the end of Act I, you are exhausted from the machinations and laughter.

I will admit Act II kind of meanders and loses a bit of footing because how can you sustain an absurdist farce after your hand has been revealed? Act II plays more of a clean-up for the mess that was created in Act I. I’m not trying to be evasive, elusive or mysterious. In a farce the less you know, the surprise element becomes extremely funnier.

There’s not one but seven funny ladies up on the stage working their butts off to make us laugh. Also let me caution you that you will be hearing a lot of coarse language, so prepare your ears. This isn’t a show to get offended by—just go with it and enjoy it.

Vanessa Williams is still gorgeous; she has elevated her status from the quintessential real-life Miss America to the fictitious Mrs. America, and can still deliver dialogue with aplomb like she did for years on TV’s “Ugly Betty.” Julie White is the consummate pro, and so good at what she does, she could be the next president. Julianne Hough is a real talent. Forget her stint on TV’s “Dancing with the Stars” because Ms. Hough is both a beauty and can truly act. Rachel Dratch of “Saturday Night Live” fame and Lea DeLaria— their characters are so over-the-top, they are hysterical, and in lesser hands they would be ridiculous. Lilli Cooper and Suzy Nakamura have the hardest parts, for they are the serious women, but they do manage to get their share of laughs. They are deftly directed by the ever-ingenious Susan Stroman. Kudos to all the ladies who make us laugh, and to Beowulf Boritt for the clever revolving set that represents the different rooms in the White House.

On another note to leave you with, in these days of alternate truths and facts and alternate universes, such an event might not be so improbable. As an alternative, it can’t be any worse than what we went through in the past few years with the previous administration. Sit back and enjoy an alternative reality, written and directed by women and acted by a very funny all-star ensemble of smart and sassy women.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published May 2, 2022
Reviewed at April 30, 2022 press performance.