Zoetic Stage’s second production in its 15th Anniversary series is POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying To Keep Him Alive, a rip-roaring political satire that feels both timely and relevant. The entertaining production is brimming with local talent, featuring an all-female ensemble of seven multi-faceted, very talented, very funny local actresses. POTUS is raunchy, in the best possible way. It is an over-the-top farce consisting of two jam-packed 45-minute acts.
The show flies by. Joke-after-joke, bit-after-bit, POTUS’s tempo and outlandish physical comedy delivers. This is a fun night out.
No spoilers but this is the premise. The President of the United States has dug himself a PR hole and the women in his professional and personal life are there to save his ass. Or, are they? The madcap play feels a little like a cross-breed between HBO’s high-paced Veep and NBC’s sketch comedy Saturday Night Live, except POTUS isn’t quite as clever. The show is very funny, and the physical humor is a triumph for regional theater, but playwright Selina Fillinger’s original script often chooses raunchiness over wit with jokes and premises that end up feeling like low-lying fruit rather than deep, witty commentary.
There are some bits that really work on a deeply ironic and hilarious level, like the prop of the bust of suffragist Alice Paul, but often times the jokes and premises are hilarious but crass.
POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying To Keep Him Alive
POTUS premiered on Broadway in 2022 and the Miami production is its regional premiere. The original show featured an All-Star cast that earned Tony nominations for Rachel Dratch as the president’s secretary Stephanie, and Julie White as the Chief of Staff Harriet. Here in Miami, both Elizabeth Price as Harriet and Elena Marie Garcia as Stephanie were up for the task and could easily earn Carbonell nominations later in the year, especially Elena Marie Garcia. Amber Joy Layne’s hyperactive Dusty also stands out as does Karen Stephens wildcat of a first lady Margaret.
The whole ensemble lives up to their roles and this production looks like a hoot for the team behind it.
Special recognition should be acknowledged to director Stuart Meltzer for conducting this zany thespian symphony and to stage manager Vanessa McCloskey for keeping it all moving. Audiences will enjoy this play’s fight scenes and physical comedy, as well as its raunchiness, and as we sit on the precipice of a new presidential term, and the defeat of yet another female candidate, the timing of this comedy could not be better.
POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying To Keep Him Alive is playing at The Arsht Center until January 26th.
For more info and tickets click here.
This article was published with the support of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners.
