Women Dominate Wildly in City Theatre’s ‘POTUS’ 

One of these women is pregnant, although she shouldn’t be. The other two are a loving couple, although they shouldn’t be. The actors (L to R) are Missy Moreno as bad-girl Bernadette, Amelia Pedlow as spinmaster Jean, and Lara Hayhurst as dancing Dusty in ‘POTUS.’

The season opener at City Theatre is an over-the-top farce, and no matter how high you think “the top” is, rest assured that the play goes over it. Want to see what happens when a behind-the-scenes caper at the White House requires a double blow job … and the caperers learn to their dismay that the blower blew the wrong men’s fuses? You’ve come to the right place. The comedy is Selina Fillinger’s POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive (through October 13). And we should clear up a misconception promptly.

Some people seem to think the play is about politics. Nothing of the sort intrudes, in the sense that no election outcomes or public policies are at stake. Certainly the setting is political, with several characters being White House staffers and portraits of past presidents on the wall. But while this may imply that the people’s business hangs in the balance, the action is nonstop monkey business.    

The title character—a fictional President of the United States—is never seen onstage. However we quickly learn that he’s a handful for his handlers to handle. When the lights come up, his chief of staff (played by Tami Dixon) and press secretary (Amelia Pedlow) are debating what to do about the latest scandal. It really isn’t much. Only another obscene, embarrassing remark by POTUS. Which he made at a gathering of world leaders. But things escalate. 

Just as every iceberg has a tip, the tip of the president’s tongue is hardly his most troublesome body part. We proceed to learn he’s a titanic mess-maker, a man who lacks moral rectitude and is also short of eptitude. And if that makes you uneasy—if it sounds too much like a real-life former POTUS you’d prefer not to think about—relax. POTUS doesn’t focus on POTUS. He’s more like an offstage plot device, used to set in motion the antics among the seven women who dominate the play throughout. One of whom might even be a dominatrix!

Shades of Commedia

Theater fans who know their history may see POTUS as echoing commedia dell’arte, the raunchy genre enjoyed by nobles and commoners alike in Europe centuries ago. Little has changed here except for the details. Whereas commedia traded in penis jokes, the first word of dialogue in POTUS is “Cunt,” spoken declaratively and repeated in its adjective form, “cunty,” frequently. Whereas commedia featured characters smacking others in the butt, POTUS has a recurring ass gag. In this case the president suffers from a sore ass-canal, and one of the play’s mysteries concerns who inserted what, during what sort of interplay, thereby causing the affliction. 

Above all, POTUS resembles commedia in the physical comedy that abounds. The seven women supposedly trying to protect the presidential rectum do not operate smoothly together. They’re skittering and scrambling about at cross-purposes. One of them, the president’s jaunty, criminal, drug-dealing sister (Missy Moreno), barges in sowing palpable disruption. A reporter who’s out to get a big story (Saige Smith) is a nursing mother; she chases her scoop while trailing twin breast pumps all abobble. The formidable First Lady (Tamara Tunie) happens to be a big-game hunter on the side and packs a pistol just in case; she’s tempted to use it when she finds out who Dusty is. 

And Dusty (Lara Hayhurst), the president’s mistress—who enters toting a blueberry slushie and showing off her blue tongue—happens to be more than a bubbly dumb blonde. She’s a mediator trained in conflict resolution, she explains to the conflicted gang, while performing a mesmerizing routine that looks like a cross between tai chi and cheerleader acrobatics.

Hayhurst, as Dusty, does a remarkable job of physical posturing and clowning. So does Theo Allyn as Stephanie, POTUS’s executive assistant, who during the course of the action transforms from a cramped bundle of insecurities to an exuberant, prancing scene-stealer. Better yet, Dusty and Stephanie are paired at one point in a rap-and-dance number. The only musical bit in the play, it’s called “Talk to the Pussy.” Wait for it. Unless you’re already so busy laughing that you don’t need to wait. 

An exclusive interview: News correspondent Chris (Saige Smith, R) thinks she’s about to get deep insights into the character of First Lady Margaret (Tamara Tunie). She doesn’t know how deeply bizarre the insights will be.

A House Divided?

But here’s the catch. On opening night, when I went, a sizable portion of the audience howled and laughed all through POTUS, while another sizable portion sat and stared silently at the spectacle unfolding. I must confess I was one of the latter. 

Did I, being male, fail to get the humor? Heck no, I got it, and many who laughed constantly were men. For me, two things intervened. One is that I could tell that the play was funny but it didn’t feel funny. It began at a fast, loud, intense pitch and stayed there. Not my style. I like wild comedy mixed with quieter and/or seriouser parts. Then the wild stuff stands out as a break from the baseline, an absurd departure from normal life, and to me, that feels funny. 

The other problem was that I often had trouble hearing the dialogue, as did some people I talked with afterward. Although the actors spoke loudly, something seemed to garble them, so that even at times when audience laughter wasn’t drowning out the end of a line, words became indistinct. The hard, flat walls of the set reach high behind the actors, and I wondered if this played tricks with acoustics in certain areas of the house. 

Finally, speaking of seriousness: The program notes for POTUS indicate that the play uses humor to explore serious feminist issues. I won’t argue with that. In fact there are moments that bring out such themes explicitly. But I would suggest you go for the laughs—and for the artfulness with which the play is done. 

The cast, to a person, is strong. The actors really sell what they’re doing. The production works like clockwork. If you’re OK with the play’s pitch and pace, and the lines come through nice and clear, you’ll be rewarded.

Closing Credits and Ticket Info

Selina Fillinger’s POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive is directed for City Theatre by Meredith McDonough. Scenic design is by Chelsea M. Warren, lighting by Jackie Fox, and costumes by Madison Michalko. Lindsay Jones provided original music and sound design. The fight choreographer is José Pérez IV, with Kaja Dunn coordinating the flip side, intimacy. Patti Kelly is the stage manager, assisted by Taylor K. Meszaros. 

POTUS launches City Theatre’s 50th season! See it through October 13 on the company’s mainstage at 1300 Bingham St., South Side. For tickets and further information, visit City on the web.  

Photos by Kristi Jan Hoover

Mike Vargo, a Pittsburgh-based freelance writer, reports on theater and other art forms for Entertainment Central.

Share on Social Media