Review: POTUS Brings Serious Laughs to Serious Issues at City Theatre

City Theatre's brand, the last decade or so, has often been less is more. Tiny casts, simple sets, "show don't tell, but also don't show." The last two or three seasons have included an increased focus on immersive unit sets, but the principle still stood... not anymore, though. Anything you think you've come to expect from City Theatre, check it at the door when you come see POTUS. What you are about to see, in terms of both performance and production value, is Broadway-tier theatre on a South Side budget. If I'd seen this same physical production in New York, I'd have said I got my money's worth and more, and that's without even factoring in the cast. To say I'm blown away is an understatement.

Meredith McDonough directs Selina Fillinger's farce, in which the unique central conceit is that the ostensible main character, the President, never once appears. We don't know his name (he's always just "POTUS"), we don't know his party affiliation, and we're not even entirely sure if it's the present day or not. Instead, we follow seven women attached to him personally or professionally, as they attempt to keep the gaffe-prone President, and the entire country, on the rails during an increasingly fraught day of press appearances. Drama, love triangles, and some of the most genuinely insane physical comedy Pittsburgh has ever seen ensue. 

This is a pure ensemble cast piece; I couldn't single out a lead if I had to with the way the show is structured. Theo Allyn, one of Pittsburgh's greatest character actors, makes a meal of overwhelmed low-level White House employee Stephanie. Allyn's diminutive stature attempting to take up greater physical space in times of stress is riot, but as things spiral out of control and Stephanie's day gets weirder and weirder... I don't want to give away what happens next, but their performance of Stephanie's gradual descent into chaos must be seen to be believed. As career politican Harriet, City Theatre favorite Tami Dixon often plays the straight man in the chaos surrounding her, but her iron will and deadpan humor conceals a simmering rage at the patriarchy, and the President, who both have her forever roped into playing second banana. There are moments where Dixon is doing almost nothing, but is still one of the funniest things onstage.

Lara Hayhurst continues her streak of being one of the most outrageous musical comedians in Pittsburgh's theatre scene, in the role of Dusty, a crisis resolution counselor with a number of secret talents. Like Ana Faris with a singing voice, there is nothing Hayhurst won't do with a smile and a twinkle in her eye, and from her cheerleading performance in Act 1 to her press conference appearance in act 2, she is a gut-busting riot. The same can be said for Missy Moreno, who brings big Beetlejuice energy to the role of butch lesbian drug dealer Bernadette. In a show full of outrageous characters, Moreno's Bernadette takes the cake, rushing into the decorum of White House politics like a bull in a china shop. 

Amelia Pedlow's almost supernaturally poised Jean is clearly used to being the smartest person in the room, and Pedlow manages that elegant smugness by imbuing it with a much warmer human side that only appears when the "politician" mask comes off. Saige Smith, as White House reporter Chris, juggles the adversarial and confrontational professional side with the empathetic solidarity of a fellow sister in arms. Smith is one of Pittsburgh's theatrical chameleons, appearing in probably a few dozen shows in the last two years and utterly disappearing into one character after another in an impressive way. And last but not least, the great Tamara Tunie, star of stage and screen, absolutely commands the stage as first lady Margaret. A political powerhouse in her own right, Margaret should logically have a government career of her own; over and over she is asked "why aren't YOU President instead?" Tunie sells that level of leadership and professionalism, but also sells the gun-toting, big-game-hunting professional predator Margaret enjoys being in her spare time. This woman has layers, and one of those layers is guns.

Meredith McDonough has staged this show to within an inch of its life, as farce requires. The physical comedy, revelations, love triangles, sight gags and special effects fly fast and hard; these two hours are packed tight with moment after moment given EXACTLY enough time to breathe before the next projectile flies. There are moments to make you go "hmm" and nod your head, but the solemnity lasts only a breath before the next gut punch of comedy. It's a perfect Election Year dessert, in a time when politics has even less laughs than usual.

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