“POTUS; Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive” – Written by Selina Fillinger. Directed by Paula Plum. Scenic Design by Jenna McFarland Lord; Sound Design by Audrey Dube; Lighting Design by Karen Perlow; Costume Design by Rebecca Glick; Fight Choreography by Angie Jepson. Presented by Speakeasy Stage Company at the Boston Center for the Arts, 527 Tremont St., Boston, through October 15
by Mike Hoban
There’s a lot to like about POTUS, the opening production for Speakeasy Stage’s 2023-2024 season. Featuring not only an all-female cast but an all-female production team, this lightning-paced farce sends up the absurdity of a crew of over-qualified, under-appreciated women propping up a misogynistic boob as he bumbles his way through his leadership role. Only in this case, it’s not an American corporation or institution; it’s the most pressure-packed job on the planet – the U.S. presidency.
The play opens with what is generally considered the single most vile word in American English (the U.K. has a different take on its usage), typically used to disparage women, especially those with opinions. The president has used a derivation of the word in reference to his wife in the presence of all the major news outlets and three Chinese diplomats, and the chief of staff and press secretary are in DEFCON 1-level damage control.
Compounding the issue is the arrival of heads of state to discuss a nuclear non-proliferation treaty with the president and a scheduled gala with a contingent of 200-plus feminists from the Female Models of Leadership Council (with the unfortunate text-speak acronym of FML) that evening. Oh, and the not-so-naïve Iowa farmgirl that the president has been having an affair with has been summoned to discuss a solution to an unintended consequence of that affair, and the president’s drug dealer sister has just been sprung from prison for a visit that she hopes will result in a pardon. And all of this comes while he is preparing for re-election. POTUS is what you’d get if an episode of The West Wing were written by the Saturday Night Live writers after a series of bong hits. And like SNL, some of the bits work better than others in a show that consistently delivers laughs.
The humor is broad, maybe overly broad at times, and the multiple references to anal abscesses, dildos, blowjobs, and puking would lead one to believe that many of the jokes were written by teenage boys rather than twenty-something female playwright Selina Fillinger, who counts Apple TV’s The Morning Show among her writing credits. Farce involves a suspension of disbelief, and when the action is moving at breakneck speed – much like when politicians with extreme views are spitting out nonsensical talking points on the Sunday news shows – it’s a lot easier to maintain that illusion. Director Paula Plum keeps the pace appropriately brisk, and the terrific cast – a collection of Boston veterans and some bright newcomers – ably wring the laughs out of the often absurd script.
Lisa Yuen, known to Boston audiences primarily for her work in musicals, makes an effective transition to comedy in the role of chief of staff Harriet, the brains behind the stooge, holding it together through sheer will, and Laura Latreille convincingly combines competence and vulnerability as the harried press secretary. Crystin Gilmore shines as the grossly overqualified and undervalued First Lady, but it’s Marianna Bassham as self-esteem-deprived secretary Stephanie and Johanna Carlisle-Zepeda as the president’s criminal sister who steal the comic limelight. Stephanie inadvertently drops a fistful of hallucinogens, and Bassham’s portrayal as she ambles through the West Wing tripping balls is priceless. Carlisle-Zepeda brings a hard comedic edge to the criminal character of Bernadette, the president’s wayward sister who has never met a crime she isn’t willing to commit. New-to-Boston stages Catia plays Chris, the newly single mom and soon-to-aged-out White House reporter, with a blend of outrage and resignation, and Monique Ward Lonergan, as the not-so-innocent Iowa farmgirl, is a bundle of energy with a sly comic touch.
Interestingly, the president – whom we never see onstage – is not based on any specific man. Instead, he’s kind of an amalgam of Trump and Clinton (particularly the philandering), with a little George W. thrown in. And although the play amps up the absurdity by setting the story in the White House, POTUS could serve as an allegory for any workplace where incompetence and bad behavior are covered for by underlings – usually women who are often more qualified for the job. As one of the characters asks, “Why isn’t she the president?” in reference to Harriet, and another responds, “That’s the eternal question, isn’t it?” That’s the underlying truth of this blistering comedy, which thankfully did not keep the opening night audience from rolling in the aisles. For tickets and information, go to: https://speakeasystage.com/
