POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive
by Selina Fillinger
Directed by Jessica Winingham
Tesseract Theatre Company
May 22, 2025
Angela Jean Hetz, Kelly Schnider, Kimmie Kidd, Isa Davis, Sarajane Clark, Angelia Prather
Photo by Florence Flick
Tesseract Theatre Company
Farces are fun. They’re wild, chaotic, and unpredictable; or that’s how they appear onstage. The reality, however, is that every “chaotic” move has to be precisely choreographed so that it only looks like chaos to the audience. Still, it has to be believable, and the cast and director need to be up to the task. All those requirements are met with enthusiasm in Tesseract’s new production of Selina Fillinger’s wild, raunchy, satirical POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive, directed with precision by Jessica Winingham.
The characters and situations are exaggerated, as is expected for this type of play, but the resemblance to modern politics is jarringly recognizable. The characters are all women who are in some way connected to an unseen womanizing, buffoonish president–referred to only as “POTUS” throughout the play–who is currently involved in an international nuclear proliferation conference. His chief of staff Hariette (Kelly Schnider) and press secretary Jean (Sarajane Clark) begin the story trying to deal with an inflammatory comment POTUS has made about the First Lady, Margaret (Kimmie Kidd), and the reactions of various countries involved in the talks. This is only the beginning of the difficulties, however, as other issues arise concerning a possible pardon for the president’s brash, drug-dealing sister Bernadette (Angelia Prather), and a seemingly flighty, pregnant young woman named Dusty (Isa Davis) shows up for an appointment with Harriette and also looking for POTUS. And then there’s Stephanie (Angela Jean Hetz), a nervous, insecure personal assistant who is worried she’s about to be fired, and then gets even more erratic after taking some “Tums” given to her by Bernadette. As the story goes on, the situation gets wilder, and a shocking event at the end of Act I makes things even more precarious, causing the women to scramble to find a solution to their problem. Meanwhile, journalist Chris (Laurell Renea Costello) is trying to find out as much as possible for a “big scoop” of a story while the others scramble to keep her out of the loop.
So much happens in this play, it’s becomes somewhat difficult to keep track of what’s happening at various moments, but that’s the nature of this type of play. The characters are all broadly drawn, which again is usual for a farce. There is an intriguing subversion of stereotypes in some of the characters–particularly Dusty, who proves to be far more savvy than she first appears, and Bernadette, who turns out to be especially resourceful. The cast is excellent, led by Clark and Schnider as the ones who seem to be the most in charge, and a hilarious turn from Hetz as the increasingly unpredictable Stephanie. Kidd is also memorable as the strong-willed Margaret; Prather shows excellent comic bravado as Bernadette; Davis is hilariously determined as Dusty; and Costello is also strong as the persistent Chris. All players show cohesive chemistry and excellent comic timing, carrying out the madcap plot with precision and top-notch comic timing.
The pacing is fast and well orchestrated, making use of a deceptively simple but clever set by director Winingham that consists largely of a series of moveable archways that are rolled into place at various times as the situation requires. There’s also excellent lighting by Tony Anselmo and sound by Michael Musgrave-Perkins that work well to carry the theme and mood of the show. The costumes by Mary Bobbins are well-suited to the characters, as well.
POTUS is a wild, irreverent, crass, and ultimately hilarious farce that lampoons modern American politics–and the views on women in political roles vs. men–with sharp wit and wild situations. The script can be hard to follow at times, but the execution here is especially strong and well-timed. It’s a riotous, fast-moving, “R-rated” farce that brings lots of laughs and much to think about.
Kelly Schnider, Sarajane Clark
Photo by Florence Flick
Tesseract Theatre Company
The Tesseract Theatre Company is presenting POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive at the Kranzberg Arts Center until June 1, 2025