Bergen County Players To Present POTUS: OR, BEHIND EVERY GREAT DUMBASS ARE SEVEN WOMEN TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE

Bergen County Players will spin heads and raise eyebrows with its raunchy production of POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive.

The Tony-nominated play opened on Broadway in 2022, to belly-holding peals of laughter and non-stop chaos. It was a Broadway debut for 28-year-old playwright Selina Fillinger, fueled by sharp wit and biting satire, as well as humor and audacity.

When a presidential PR nightmare involving a four-letter word evolves into a global catastrophe, it's up to seven women in the Commander-in-Chief's inner circle to do damage control, that is if they don't drive each other off the rails first through a chaotic cocktail of increasingly absurd antics. Ironically, it is the women POTUS relies upon most who risk life, liberty, and the pursuit of sanity to keep the President out of trouble. The characters represent the double-bind most women face: balancing their day-to-day personal lives and loves with their loyalty to their jobs and/or boss. Delightfully raunchy and uproariously funny, POTUS is a naughty political farce that will have you rolling in the aisles!

Lynne Lupfer is a BCP Life Member, past president and member of the theater's Board of Governors who has multiple directing credits to her name, including Godspell, You Can't Take it With You, Sleeping Beauty, The Mouse That Roared, Aladdin, Leading Ladies and The Emperor's New Clothes, among other shows. Her credits as Costume Designer include The Story of Velveteen Rabbit, Ragtime: The Musical (Perry Award nomination), Jack & the Beanstalk, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Guys and Dolls. Audiences have also seen her talent for decor on more than 30 sets at BCP.

"There is no more suitable time than this very moment for Selina Fillinger's biting and hilarious comedy, as it pulls back the curtain on the women working behind the scenes at the White House," director Lynne Lupfer said. "It's a raucous, bawdy ride that will leave you thinking while you laugh."

The talented cast of POTUS includes BCP veterans and newcomers. BCP President and Life Member Alyson Cohn of Wyckoff takes on the role of Harriet, the harried chief of staff, whose mission is to control the ensuing madness. BCP newcomer Rachelle Rennagel of Montclair plays Jean, the press secretary tasked with the unenviable job of keeping a lid on a PR nightmare. Marisa Gore of Englewood takes up space in uproarious fashion as Stephanie, the neurotic POTUS secretary who overdoses on psychedelics-laced Tums with hilarious results. Katie Maul of Fair Lawn makes her BCP debut in the role of Dusty, the President's pregnant mistress, who presents an unexpected complication when she shows up on the scene. Felicia Benson-Kraft of Maywood is Bernadette, the troublesome drug-dealing jailbird sister of POTUS, who is banking on a presidential pardon. Tonette Smith of Tappan, NY plays Chris, the scoop-chasing reporter who is just trying to beat her competition but unwittingly becomes ensnared in the debacle on stage. Rounding out the cast is Dana Harris of Newark who makes her BCP debut in the role of the very classy FLOTUS, Margaret, who has seen it all and isn't easily surprised by her husband's gall.

The Production Team is comprised of Howell Mayer (Producer), Michele Roth (Assistant to the Director and Stage Manager), Gerard Bourcier (Set Design/Construction), Jodi Laufer (Set Construction), Marci Weinstein and Terri Caust (Décor), Michael Serpe (Fight Coordinator), Allan Seward (Lighting Design), Jill Hendrickson (Lighting Operator), Tim Larsen (Sound Design), Lisa Dahlborg (Sound Operator), Jennifer Bancks and Barbra Murtha (Props), Olga Garey (Costumes), Joanne Misha (Makeup), Ian Kenny (Crew Chief), Jennifer Bancks, Richard Field, Greg Guido and Leon Vaks (Crew), Dominique Alvarado (Choreographer), Michael Serpe (Fight Choreographer), Alan Zenreich (Photographer), Marci Weinstein (Program Notes), and Paul Aiello (Member-at-Large).

Disclaimer: POTUS contains explicit adult language.

The show opens on Saturday, November 2 and runs through Saturday November 23 at the Little Firehouse Theatre in Oradell. Show times are Friday and Saturday nights at 8PM and Sundays at 2PM. Tickets to POTUS, priced at $28 on Fridays and Saturdays, and $26 on Sundays, can be purchased online at www.bcplayers.org, by calling 201-261-4200 or by visiting the box office at 298 Kinderkamack Road in Oradell during regular box office hours.

To post a comment, you must register and login.