POTUS Comes to Stage West in March

Stage West will present the regional premiere of POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive, a very adult rollercoaster of a farce, which begins a 3-week run on Thursday, March 7. 

As usual, damage control for this mess falls to the capable women on the President’s staff, so the Chief of Staff Harriet and Press Secretary Jean immediately swing into gear to find a way to right the ship of state.  Unfortunately, their efforts quickly run up against several obstacles.  There’s an irate First Lady out for her husband’s blood, a timid but determined Presidential personal secretary guarding his door, and an unwelcome veteran reporter with a nose for scandal who won’t leave without answers. To further complicate things, there are a couple of unexpected arrivals – a “special friend” of the President with a secret, and also his jailbird sister who is seeking a get-out-of-jail-free card.  Total chaos quickly ensues, and things are going to get a lot worse before (or if) they get better!

It’s a classic, outrageous farce, liberally sprinkled with strong language and adult situations, and audiences are likely to find themselves rolling with laughter.

Associate Producer Garret Storms says, “This show is one of the most sought-after titles in the nation at the moment. … Don’t make assumptions about this one! It’s a classic, old-school farce. …with very adult language and very powerful women!!”

Selina Fillinger is an award-winning, internationally produced writer and performer. Her feminist farce, POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive, garnered three Tony nominations and made Fillinger, at 28, one of the youngest female playwrights ever produced on Broadway. Other plays include Baby, Under the Sill, The Collapse, Something Clean, Faceless, and The Armor Plays: Cinched/Strapped. Her work has been developed at Roundabout Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club, Williamstown Theatre, Old Globe Theatre, and Alley Theatre, among others. She is currently commissioned at Roundabout and South Coast Repertory. She has developed TV with AMC, Freeform, Hunting Lane, and Hulu, and a feature with Chernin/Netflix. She wrote for the third season of Apple TV’s The Morning Show. Fillinger was named to the 2024 Forbes 30 Under 30 list for Hollywood/Entertainment. 

POTUS will be directed by Kara-Lynn Vaeni, who last directed our productions of Witch and The Children. The cast features Stage West Executive Producer Dana Schultes as Chief of Staff Harriet, with Vanessa DeSilvio, last at Stage West in Between Riverside & Crazy, as Press Secretary Jean.  Appearing as the President’s sister Bernadette will be Laurel L. Collins, recently seen in Poor Clare, with Olivia Cinquepalmi, seen in I Wanna F*cking Tear You Apart, as the naïve Dusty.  Making their Stage West debuts are Kristin McCollum as secretary Stephanie and Octavia Thomas as journalist Chris. vickie Washington [sic], who has directed Stage West’s productions of Are You Now or Have You Ever Been… and What to Send Up When It Goes Down, is making her Stage West acting debut as First Lady Margaret.

Set design is by Technical Director Bryan Stevenson, with lighting design by Roma Flowers, costume and wig design by Shahrzad Mazaheri, sound design and mixing by Joshua Nguyen, intimacy and fight choreography by Mitch Stephens, and props and set décor by Lynn Lovett.  Stage Manager duties will be handled by Tiffany Cromwell.

POTUS will preview Thursday, March 7 at 7:30 and Friday, March 8 at 8:00, and will run through Sunday, March 24.  The opening night reception will be after the evening performance on Saturday, March 9.  The ASL interpreted performance will be Thursday, March 21.  Performances will be Thursdays at 7:30, Fridays at 8:00, Saturdays at 2:00 and 8:00, and Sundays at 2:00 and 7:30.  Ticket prices for this show are $43 on Thursdays and Fridays, and $47 on Saturdays and Sundays, with $39 tickets for the two preview performances.  Food service is available 90 minutes prior to performances (reservations are advised).  Reservations and information are available through the Box Office (817-784-9378), or on the website, www.stagewest.org.  

This show is rated R for graphic language and adult situations.

 

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