One 4-letter word is about to rock 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. When the President unwittingly spins a PR nightmare into a global crisis, the seven brilliant and beleaguered women he relies upon most will risk life, liberty, and the pursuit of sanity to keep the Commander in Chief out of trouble.
Directed by five-time Tony Award® winner Susan Stroman, POTUS is an uproarious Broadway debut by playwright Selina Fillinger. Lilli Cooper, Lea DeLaria, Rachel Dratch, Julianne Hough, Suzy Nakamura, Julie White and Vanessa Williams star in this riotous comedy about the women in charge of the man in charge of the free world.
What has indisputably been established throughout both acts is that the seven cast members are each worth whatever salary they're getting and more. Each, as cleverly dressed by Linda Cho, deserves a separate order-of-appearance rave: White for her unmitigated fury, Nakamura for her dignified uppityness, Dratch for her vague otherworldliness (especially when calling attention to her covered nipples), Williams for her dignified but no-nonsense great lady, Cooper for her sneakiness, Hough for her unabashed cheer, DeLaria for her never-abating brazenness. Susan Stroman, apparently on leave from musicals, directs. She's so creative at this song-and-dance-less assignment that the leave is likely to be extended. She never falters at keeping the stage lively. That goes for the stretches where the Fillinger script stalls. Yes, Stroman lovers, she does slip in a brief dance routine or two.
The jokes are sometimes funny, mostly vulgar, with an overreliance on sex jokes and gross-out humor (the same puke gag is used not once or twice, but three times). The cast have genuine comic chemistry with each other, and the audience around me guffawed in particular at Dratch's antics. Thanks to Linda Cho's costumes, I heard the loudest audience laugh this season over a piece of clothing: the high-heeled Crocs worn by Williams, who should be nominated for a Tony Award for how well she pulls them off.
2022 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2022 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Awards | Rachel Dratch |
2022 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Awards | Julie White |
2022 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Production of a Play | POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive |
2022 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play | Rachel Dratch |
2022 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play | Julie White |
2022 | Tony Awards | Best Scenic Design of a Play | Beowulf Boritt |
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