“I read it and laughed my tush off.”
That was Stuart Meltzer’s reaction to the satirical play, “POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive” by Selina Fillinger. Meltzer, founding artistic director of Zoetic Stage, which performs at the Arsht Center’s Carnival Studio Theatre, liked the play so much he decided to add it to Zoetic’s 15th anniversary season.
The timing couldn’t be better. Zoetic’s regional premiere of the play opens less than two weeks before inauguration day.
Chris HeadShots
Stuart Meltzer, Founding Artistic Director, Zoetic Stage
“Many regional productions of ‘POTUS’ happened right around the election,” said Meltzer. “We wanted to present a female-empowering play in January regardless of how the election unfolded. I was hoping for a celebration with the inauguration of the first female POTUS – that didn't happen. So, I'm hoping to heal through laughter.”
“POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive” premiered on Broadway in 2022 with an impressive cast – Lilli Cooper, Lea DeLaria, Rachel Dratch, Julianne Hough, Suzy Nakamura, Julie White, and Vanessa Williams – and earned Tony nominations for Dratch, White, and scenic designer Beowulf Boritt.
The Zoetic Stage production features a cast well-known to regional theater audiences: Renata Eastlick, Elena Maria Garcia, Autumn Kioti Horne, Amber Joy Lane, Elizabeth Price, Karen Stephens, and Gaby Tortoledo.
The provocative, funny title, “POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive,” is a good launching point for the plot, which concerns women in a president’s inner circle who risk everything to keep him out of trouble.
(Morgan Sophia Photography)
Autumn Kioti Horne, Amber Joy Lane, Gaby Tortoledo, and Renata Eastlick
“Without giving too much away, because there are some wonderful surprises, POTUS has put his foot in his mouth and offended half the world, so his chief of staff and press secretary jump into crisis mode, and what appears just to be another day in the West Wing turns into a comic gymnasium of obstacles, figurative bombs, and oopsies,” said Meltzer.
The women in that inner circle also include the first lady and the president’s secretary. There is also a journalist doing a fluff piece on the first lady.
While directing a play that takes place in so many different places in the West Wing and creating each location on a budget is tricky, Meltzer said that was not the biggest challenge of the play.
“Comedy is always the most difficult component of theatre-making, in my opinion, due to timing, delivery, and the physical nature of it,” said Meltzer. “It takes grueling work to make things funny. That being said, I work with an incredible team of comic actresses ‘taking up space’ with the play.”
While “POTUS…” takes place in the White House and centers on the president, the play is more universal than one might think.
“It's a play about power dynamics in the workplace, not politics,” said Meltzer.
“POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive” premiered during the Biden administration, but, according to Meltzer, steers clear of taking political sides.
(Morgan Sophia Photography)
Elena Maria Garcia, Karen Stephens, and Elizabeth Price
“American politics are American politics no matter who the landlord is,” said Meltzer. “The play is non-partisan. There is a little bit of the right and a little bit of the left. The playwright purposely left the politics ambiguous.
Politics, especially at the national level, have been more contentious than usual over the past few presidential elections, and Meltzer understands that reactions from audiences may be unpredictable.
“That's not within my control,” said Meltzer. “If I think about that – and I do think about that at times – I experience bouts of hefty anxiety. At the end of the day, we are doing a play – a very, very funny one, but just a play. I hope that we can contribute to a climate of healing in dangerous and divisive times.”
IF YOU GO
“POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive”
Jan. 9-29
Zoetic Stage
The Carnival Studio Theatre at Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami