By Shirley Lorraine –
The Santa Paula Theatre is currently running a thoroughly naughty, funny, chaotic romp in our nation’s White House with POTUS, subtitled “Behind every great dumbass are seven women trying to keep him alive” written by Selina Fillinger. It is definitely not for the easily offended.
No matter your political leanings, the outrageous behind-the-scenes dilemmas will leave you in stitches, as long as you accept the absurdity and underlying message without attempting to attribute it to any specific political figure or situation. The author, with well-placed jabs, hits unabashedly on some key players in the business of running our country, sparing no one.
What is the message? Put simply, it is about the struggles that women are asked to endure to clean up messes made by powerful men. The seven women featured each hold a quite specific role of responsibility to the big guy himself, the President. When he utters a demeaning four-letter word in a public speech that quickly goes globally viral, the women must scramble to protect his already tarnished reputation by spinning the incident in any way they can.
The result is highly charged creativity, frantic action, and a cacophony of expletives suitable for the situation, which just keeps getting worse as they attempt to achieve the impossible.
With a skilled hand and tongue firmly in cheek, Director Jessi May Stevenson goes out on a limb to engage the audience by encouraging her actors to be wild and crazy in their no-holds-barred portrayals. They readily complied.
The cast includes:
- Sarah Broughton as Jean, the Press Secretary
- Tracy Hudak as Harriet, the Chief of Staff
- Juliana Acosta as Chris, a journalist with an inside track
- Elektra Cohen as Margaret, the First Lady
- Cynthia Killion as Bernadette, the President’s incarcerated, gritty sister
- Erin Hollander as Stephanie, a newly hired and inexperienced secretary
- Shelby Sandefur as Dusty, an outsider of dubious background hired for duties outside those of the regular staff
Each of the ladies prove to be up to the task of the physical and vocal hilarity that ensues, adding character traits that make them unique.
Presented in two acts, POTUS allows the audience a much-needed break to process the rapid action, dialogue and situations before leaping back into the resolution. The laughs continue through the curtain call.
This production is a leap forward for Ventura County audiences. It won’t be to everyone’s taste, but it does open a lot of doors for conversations. It shows the magnitude of talent we have here in our county, giving the actors free reign to go all out. And they do.
Be aware it is crude language heavy from the first moments on. In this case, and with this cast and director, the play allows the audience to put a voice to what many may be feeling about politics in general. Take it for the farce it is and just let yourself laugh. You’ll feel better. I did.
POTUS continues Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm, Sunday matinees at 2:30 pm through March 9. www.santapaulatheatercenter.org Email: sptcboxoffice@gmail.com Phone:(805) 525-4645
