POTUS to be Filmed for New York Public Library For The Performing Arts

The world premiere of Selina Fillinger's modern farce POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive, will be filmed for the Theatre on Film and Tape Archive at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. POTUS, now playing the final weeks of its limited Broadway engagement at the iconic Shubert Theatre (225 West 44th Street) will be filmed during the Tuesday, August 2 performance.

The archive at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts has preserved live theatrical productions and documented the creative contributions of distinguished artists and legendary figures of the theatre since 1970. Thanks to a generous donation from The Ted Snowdon Foundation, POTUS is honored to join the largest, most comprehensive collection of live theatre anywhere in the world.

An uproarious new comedy about the women in charge of the man in charge of the free world, POTUS marks the Broadway debut of 28-year-old playwright Selina Fillinger (Something Clean), in a production directed by five-time Tony Award winner Susan Stroman (The Producers, The Scottsboro Boys). One four-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 risk life, liberty, and the pursuit of sanity to keep the commander-in-chief out of trouble.

POTUS features an all-star cast of women, including Tony Award nominee Lilli Cooper (Tootsie, "The Good Fight") as Chris; Screen Actors Guild Award winner Lea DeLaria ("Orange is the New Black," The Rocky Horror Show) as Bernadette; "SNL" comedy legend and 2022 Tony Award Nominee Rachel Dratch ("Saturday Night Live," Wine Country) in her Broadway debut as Stephanie; Emmy Award winner Julianne Hough (Footloose, Safe Haven, "Dancing with the Stars") in her Broadway debut as Dusty; actress and comedian Suzy Nakamura ("Dr. Ken," Horrible Bosses 2, "Avenue 5") in her Broadway debut as Jean, Tony Award winner Julie White (The Little Dog Laughed, "Nurse Jackie," Transformers) as Harriet; and Grammy, Emmy & Tony Award nominee Vanessa Williams (Into the Woods, "Ugly Betty," "Desperate Housewives") as Margaret. The cast also includes Anita Abdinezhad (Persian Pod), Gisela Chípe ("Manifest"), Jennifer Fouché (Chicken & Biscuits), and Lisa Helmi Johanson (Avenue Q) as standbys.

The play began previews at the Shubert Theatre on Thursday, April 14, 2022, and officially opened on Wednesday, April 27, 2022, earning three 2022 Tony Award nominations and three 2022 Drama League Award nominations, including Best Play.

POTUS features Scenic Design by Tony Award winner Beowulf Boritt (Act One, Come from Away), Costume Design by Tony Award winner Linda Cho (Grand Horizons, Anastasia), Lighting Design by Sonoyo Nishikawa (Once Upon a One More Time, Prince of Broadway On Tour), and Sound Design by Tony Award winner Jessica Paz (Hadestown, Dear Evan Hansen), Hair and Wig Design by Cookie Jordan (Slave Play, Trouble In Mind). Intimacy and Fight Direction is by Rocio Mendez (Merry Wives of Windsor, Romeo y Julieta at The Public Theater), Casting is by Artios Award winner Taylor Williams (What the Constitution Means to Me, Slave Play), Production Stage Management is by Johnny Milani (Kinky Boots, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child), and General Management is by Foresight Theatrical (The Phantom of the Opera, Moulin Rouge!). The producing team also includes Salman Al-Rashid, Runyonland Productions, Sony Music Masterworks, One Community, Jay Alix & Una Jackman, Jonathan Demar, Imagine Equal Entertainment, Lucas Katler, David J. Lynch, Leonid Makaron, Mark Gordon Pictures, Liz Slager, Ted Snowdon, Natalie Gorman/Tish Brennan Throop, and The Shubert Organization. Mark Shacket serves as Executive Producer. Lead Producer Level Forward serves as Impact Producer for the play and established The POTUS Coalition with partner organizations: Black Voters Matter, Center For Reproductive Rights, ERA Coalition, IGNITE, She The People, Supermajority Education, and Vote Mama.

About the Theatre on Film and Tape Archive (TOFT)

Since 1970, TOFT has preserved live theatrical productions and documented the creative contributions of distinguished artists and legendary figures of the theatre. It is the first and, remains today, the largest archive of its kind in the world. With the consent and cooperation of the theatrical unions and guilds and each individual production's artistic collaborators and cast, TOFT produces professionally-shot video recordings of Broadway, Off-Broadway, and regional theatre productions, as well as dialogues with notable theatre personalities. These historic recordings are available for research in its Lucille Lortel screening room, located on the third floor of the Library for the Performing Arts.

About The New York Public Library For The Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center

The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts houses one of the world's most extensive combinations of circulating, reference, and rare archival collections in its field. These materials are available free-of-charge at all times, along with a wide range of special programs, including exhibitions, seminars, and performances. An essential resource for everyone with an interest in the arts - whether professional or amateur - the Library is known particularly for its prodigious collections of non-book materials such as historic recordings, video recordings, autograph manuscripts, correspondence, sheet music, stage designs, press clippings, programs, posters and photographs. The Library is part of The New York Public Library system, which has 92 locations in the Bronx, Manhattan and Staten Island, and is a lead provider of free education for all.

Photo credit: Paul Kolnik