Vixen Theatre Company's POTUS
Is Uproariously Funny! (And Filled
with Plenty of Food for Thought)

Vixen Theatre Company's current production of POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive is uproariously funny! (And filled with plenty of food for thought.)

Warning #1: The play contains language (and refers to themes) that might be considered offensive.

Warning #2: This review quotes some of the language and references the themes.

While eliciting nonstop laughter from a sold-out audience Sunday afternoon, Vixen Theatre Company's production of Selina Fillinger's 2022 Broadway comedy, POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive, adheres strictly to Vixen's mission statement: "Vixen Theatre Company seeks to empower and inspire through bold, innovative storytelling. We are committed to challenging conventions, igniting conversations, and celebrating the diverse voices and stories of our community."

In recent history, we have learned that POTUSes (Presidents of the United States) can be a lot of different things. They can be stupid and monumentally incompetent. They can be shameless womanizers. And/or they can be crass, offensive, self-aggrandizing, and narcissistic.

Suppose that the American people were to elect a man who excelled in all of these fields. (Let's call him "Bob.") Suppose that today is a bad day -- a day on which the filter between his mind and his mouth has totally malfunctioned in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and in the presence of the wrong people. Suppose he has a full schedule of important public events ahead of him today and tonight.

Let's see what happens when seven women team up to handle damage control. Can they put out all the fires? Can they save him from himself? For that matter, can they keep him alive?

Get ready for a serious indictment of a system that traps highly capable women in secondary roles while allowing "Bob" to thrive and prosper while he cluelessly endangers the reputation of our nation and the well-being of the world.

At the same time, get ready for an intense laugh-a-thon because this show's plot features a series of situations that are funny because they're unbelievable (or even pitiful), a series of solutions that are funny because they are risky, desperate, and improbable, and a series of jokes that are often crude -- all liberally laced with delightfully salty language.

Blair Cadden directs this warp-speed, door-slamming farce. Timing is impeccable, and sight gags abound. The scenes follow swiftly on each others' heels, giving us just enough time to digest what has just happened before layering on more levels to complicate the absurdity of "Bob's" situation.

The Play:

When the curtain rises, we are in the White House, where we meet the chief of staff (Harriet), the press secretary (Jean), a very insecure office secretary (Stephanie), the First Lady (Margaret), a reporter (Chris), the president's sister (Bernadette), and a gorgeous young "acquaintance," who the president has had flown in from the Midwest (Dusty).

The first word that we hear is "cunt." Apparently, the president had used it (in the presence of reporters) while speaking with some foreign dignitaries. There have been on-the-spot repercussions, and Harriet and Jean are worried about the waves that they anticipate at an upcoming event that involves his interaction with feminist leaders.

And then there's his inability to sit down (which they assume is the result of "rough ass play"). The situation is exacerbated with complications upon complications.

Is there an unwanted pregnancy?

Why was Bernadette in prison? Has she been rehabilitated? Will she be officially paroled or pardoned?

The Acting:

This cast is a well-oiled ensemble. They play with each other, to each other, and off each other with precise timing. The (at-times wild) physicality has been thoroughly rehearsed to result in maximum hilarity.

Natalie Turgeon, as Harriet, has nailed the "all-business" work ethic and near-stoic resilience necessary for her position. While on-point throughout, Turgeon positively shines in the opening damage-control sequence.

Hope Hynes-Love, as Jean, manages to appear just barely in control (and often on the verge of panic) as the plot thickens. Hynes-Love handles the transition into the Jean-Bernadette interactions with aplomb.

I can't imagine anyone handling Stephanie's immense range of emotions and antics better than Lorelei Lemon. Lemon has all the right expressions, the tones-of-voice, the postures, and the body language for the character's initial insecurity-that-borders-on-psychosis, and she plays the character's desperate coping strategies in a comical-yet-believable fashion. Circumstances cause Stephanie to "let it all hang out" in the second act; and Lemon is all over (and off) the stage, playing every beat to the hilt.

Sky Symonds manages to create a Dusty that seems totally air-headed while staying focused on her own agenda and assuming responsibilities in the cosmic scheme of things. And the ever-capable Laurel Ullman has endowed Bernadette with so many "butch-lesbian" and "tough-broad" attributes that I am tempted to rename the character "Captain Tough Ass." Ullman's character exudes an in-control attitude throughout.

Gabrielle Vizcaino's Chris has an agenda of her own, playing her cards close to the chest. Vizcaino masterfully plays the harried moments of her character's subplots and subtexts. She's quite comical during the breast-pump sequences.

Terri Crymes plays Margaret with an air that borders on majestic. Crymes manages to let the audience see aspects of Margaret's "interior" that the character keeps hidden from the others.

The Tech:

Technical director Anthony Buckner, I assume, is responsible for the scenic design, which makes use of several doors to create entrances to various rooms in the White House. Each door unit is easily moved when necessary. Lighting cues focus and complement the changes of location, making the scene-to-scene transitions quick and smooth. Sound cues are also on-point.

Costume designer Rachel McKay has expertly decked out the actors in character-specific outfits. And Carolyn Briggs-Gaul has taken care of props design, including a pair of breast pumps (complete with two jars containing "product") that create the illusion that actual pumping is in progress.

And a well-deserved tip-of-the-hat to stage manager Ruth Berry (assisted by Tim Price).

Nice Touches:

• Playing "God Bless America" for top-of-the-show music.
• The presidential emblem on the floor.
• A pair of pink Crocs™, decorated with golden chains.
• The discussion of Tea Tree Oil vs. Surgery (and everything it implies).
• The breast pump "saga," which includes evidence of growing leakage on Chris' shirt.
• Use of slow motion at the end of a critical scene.
• Various uses of blue food coloring.
• Bringing the action into and among the audience during a key sequence.

Memorable Lines:

• "The twins have discovered projectile vomiting."
• "What did you do? Blow a Smurf?"
• "There is no howling in the White House!"
• "Well, that's the eternal question now, isn't it?"
• "Very Jackie O. meets Carl Sagan."
• "Where's the ground? ... Oh my God! There is no ground."
• "You look like Reagan."
• "Hey! We all serve in different ways."

Note: in most cases, it is the delivery that makes these lines memorable.

From the Department of Picky-Picky:

We are pleased to report that there are no nits to pick. This, however, feels like an appropriate place to lament that POTUS will probably not attract many of the people who really need to hear its message and that the message would most likely be lost on them anyway.

The Bottom Line:

For a comedy that is both rollickingly funny and full of social commentary, Vixen Theatre Company's POTUS will be hard to beat. The script, the directing, and the acting all contribute, proving the old adage that "The whole is greater than the sum of the parts" and making for two hours of riveting fun and plenty of grist for the after-the-show discussion mill.

Selina Fillinger's POTUS: OR, BEHIND EVERY GREAT DUMBASS ARE SEVEN WOMEN TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE (In Person at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 12-14), directed by Blair Cadden and starring Gabrielle Vizcaino as Chris, Laurel Ullman as Bernadette, Lorelei Lemon as Stephanie, Sky Symonds as Dusty, Hope Hynes-Love as Jean, Natalie Turgeon as Harriet, and Terri Crymes as Margaret (Vixen Theatre Company in the Leggett Theatre on the second floor of Main Building at William Peace University in Raleigh). TRAILERS: PRESENTER: https://www.vixentheatrecompany.com/, https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61561039527469, and https://www.instagram.com/vixentheatreco. VENUE (Leggett Theatre at William Peace University): DIRECTIONS: https://www.google.com/maps/. CAMPUS MAP/PARKING/NEARBY DINING/RETAIL: https://peace.edu/visitors/. POTUS: OR, BEHIND EVERY GREAT DUMBASS ARE SEVEN WOMEN TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE (2022 Broadway satire): https://www.concordtheatricals.com/p/94990/potus, https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-show/potus-or-behind-every-great-dumbass-are-seven-women-trying-to-keep-him-alive-533983, and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/POTUS:_Or,_Behind_Every_Great_Dumbass_Are_Seven_Women_Trying_to_Keep_Him_Alive. THE SCRIPT: https://www.scribd.com/document/656215964/POTUS-Selina-Fillinger. SELINA FILLINGER (Berkeley, CA-born playwright and screenwriter): https://selinafillinger.com/, https://www.concordtheatricals.com/a/118708/selina-fillinger, https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/selina-fillinger-533993, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm12523974/, and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selina_Fillinger. TICKETS: $30 ($20 students and seniors), except $10 "Seats for Everyone," plus taxes and fees. Click here to buy tickets. INFORMATION: Contact@vixentheatrecompany.com. PLEASE DONATE TO: Vixen Theatre Company.

WHAT: Triangle Review is a FREE weekly e-mail performing-arts and film newsletter, edited and published by Robert W. McDowell since August 2001.

TO SUBSCRIBE: To start your FREE subscription today, sign up in the subscription box at the beginning of this e-mail; or e-mail RobertM748@aol.com and type SUBSCRIBE-TR in the Subject: line. TO UNSUBSCRIBE: E-mail RobertM748@aol.com and type UNSUBSCRIBE-TR in the Subject: line.

QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? E-mail all questions, comments, and Letters to the Editor to RobertM748@aol.com. For Letters to the Editor, please include a daytime telephone number in your e-mail.

COPYRIGHT: Editorial content in all formats © 2025 Triangle Review and the author of each article. Reproduction in any form without authorization of Triangle Review and the respective authors is prohibited. Triangle Review maintains an archive of past issues. To request copies of past articles and/or issues, e-mail RobertM748@aol.com.