“POTUS: or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive,” by Selina Fillinger, and craftily directed by Courtney Young, is an over-the-top farce complete with slamming doors, chases and plans that go insanely awry.
Like every good farce, “POTUS” begins with a simple situation. In this case, while in a meeting with several foreign representatives, the President of the United States has made the ultimate slip of the tongue by referring to his wife with the “C-word”. It now falls on his all-female staff to once again smooth over the foreign and domestic feathers ruffled by the POTUS, a situation that apparently is not uncommon. So, Harriet (Julie Cardia), his devoted chief of staff and Jean (Michelle Liu Coughlin), his overworked Press Secretary, start to devise a spin campaign aimed at easing the tensions and to protect whatever they can salvage of the President’s reputation. As if that were not enough, his day is packed with important events including a nuclear nonproliferation conference, the endorsement of a female politician, a feel-good meeting/photo-op with a pair of heroic twin disabled vets and an appearance at a women’s leadership gala event. Thrown into all that mess is the President’s Secretary, Stephanie (Emily Nash), who is very bright (she speaks 5 languages) but is still quite green as to how things work in this beleaguered White House. Plus, there is the somewhat aloof First Lady, Margaret (Marlo Denise Stroud) who is to be interviewed by Chris (Tamika Katon Donegal), a reporter who is a recently divorced mother and senses a career-making story lurking within those hallowed halls. As if that weren’t enough, two outsiders crash into the goings-on. One is Dusty (Shannon Mary Dixon), a young woman claiming to be pregnant with the President’s child and Bernadette (Cas Koenig), the President’s butch drug-dealing sister seeking a Presidential pardon. As is the way with farce, all these stories collide one after the other wreaking havoc which somehow manages to reach a conclusion where only these seven ladies are aware of the chaos which ensued.
This is truly an ensemble work with each lady having her moment(s) center stage, Even so, a few gave standout performances. Ms. Cardia and Ms. Coughlin create a real comic team as the much put-upon but puppy dog loyal Chief of Staff and the POTUS’ Press Secretary. Ms. Dixon’s Dusty is consistently amusing as she interacts with everyone in a not-quite-all-there manner and as the drug dealing sister of the President, Ms. Koenig attacks the part with a glee that is totally contagious.
The multi-room set by Jimmy Cuomo and lighting design by Moira Wilkie beautifully convey the formality of the White House while also providing the many offices, antechambers and bathrooms, all with the necessary slamming doors through which the cast races with ever-increasing speed and panic.
The language may be coarse, but the laughs are plentiful as these seven characters struggle to maintain the illusion that the Patriarchy has everything under control, which of course is anything but the truth!
POTUS is playing at the CVRep Theatre in Cathedral City now through March 17, 2024. For tickets or further information, visit their website at www.CVRep.org