Broadway review “POTUS”: Julie White, Rachel Dratch, Julianne Hough and All-Star Cast Corral Chaos in a new political farce

Like a strange brew of beer VEEP, the sounds are off And the nonsense of one of the most outrageous and vulgar (and still so much missed) entertaining theater groups of the late Charles Ludlam, Celina Filinger’s all-female, star-studded political satire. POTUS: Or, behind every great fool are seven women trying to save him. Sometimes it’s a glorious farce, sometimes chaotically funny and other times What were they thinking ?? Pippo as the last segment of a Live streaming on Saturday night Episode.

Yup POTUSDirected by Susan Stroman, which opens today at the Broadway Schubert Theater, it never goes beyond these three levels of influence, not so skillfully. VEEPLightning fast the sounds are off Not jealous like Ludlam – POTUS The barrels of his feeble expanses of contagious enthusiasm and a lively cast that pleases the crowd.

Together with a creative team of women, Beowulf Borit has fostered an excellent rotating set of White House offices that serve the equivalent of all of these offices. the sounds are off Knocking on the door: the first word POTUSPersona is a word that can be used for comic effect only in this feminine outfit (and maybe the vintage Mamet, but that has nothing to do with it).

This word was uttered in disbelief by Harriet (Miracle Julie White), the president’s angry chief of staff, who we will never see on this stage. Harriet repeats (and yells) the word confidently after hearing that her boss has publicly used taboo vulgarity. We expect such indignation from the anonymous POTUS, who seems to combine Barack Obama’s charm, Trump’s stupidity and incompetence, and Clinton’s sexual stupidity. With that combination, POTUS needs all the behind-the-scenes help he can get, and he gets it from the seven women in his orbit of him:

• Harriet (White), an ultra-competent chief of staff who has done most of the presidential work over the years and signed his papers;
• Jean (Suzy Nakamura), press officer, as Harriet, although not always fully involved;
• Margaret (Vanessa Williams), a shrewd first lady who can hide the public hatred that characterizes her cheating husband, and who is willing to play with a poll that requires her to be more “earthly” – hence the Crocs, which she wears -. And she hates (and replaces with stilettos);
• Stephanie (Rachel Drach), an unfortunate and incompetent secretary who never stops thinking about job security and only gradually reveals what she truly has to offer;
• Chris (Lily Cooper), a well-known reporter who is on friendly terms with women in the White House but continues to watch the news;
• Dusty (Juliana Huff), a charming young farmer who appears to have been invited by POTUS himself to the Oval Office, stars in (ahem) very personal stories that could upset her first marriage, the White House and the free world. ; Y
• Bernadette (Lea Delaria), a prisoner of Potus, drug addict, struggling lesbian and wanted in three countries, has decided to resume the illegal supply of pills and Coca-Cola to the White House, as well as her relationship with one of them. The women upstairs.

So when these women meet on Pennsylvania Avenue, what could possibly go wrong? Many, especially the day POTUS publicly refers to her husband at a meeting attended by world leaders as the C word (neither she nor any women she sees around adorn the term with abbreviations).

Like any good farce, this crisis is just the beginning of a day involving many, many more escalations. POTUS also has a very painful, very delicate and very difficult medical condition caused by sexual play with a very specific purpose (a ring-shaped inflatable rescue device is offered in the form of palliative care). And the good news for the young duo surprises another woman as well as being good (as you think it’s new, she is). And the journalist with the nose is in everything.

It is all based on an incident (very cleverly staged) that opens the curtain on the first act and turns the second act into a spiral of continuous crisis, for the staff of the White House and, frankly, for the show: an important part. ACT II loses all internal logic and becomes ridiculous Weekend in Bern Nonsense. Drech may be the only actor alive who can make an audience happy when he wanders a theater in a blood-soaked, drugged, American flag-wielding comic agitation that bears no resemblance to real-life hallucinations. Ride.

Neither POTUS It never proves why post-breakup insanity happens, just as it is based on a conspiracy involving all women for a crime that appears to have been committed by only one. The result is one of those comically made-up and utterly frustrating dilemmas that can be quickly eliminated with a simple truth statement: “The He did it! “

Fortunately, Fillinger (best known for writing on Apple TV morning show), solves the madness with some slow fixes on the way, and director Stroman gets on with the work so fast that only once in a while do you have a free moment to break the logic in the fun.

At the same time, the actors seem to have more fun in town. White, one of the most iconic comic actors on the scene (The little dog smiled, Gary: Continuation of Titus Andronicus) uses the sharp sound of his knife as a kind of auditory embodiment of chaos on stage, while Drech seamlessly blends the comedic style of a wide-ranging TV show that delights the viewer regardless of whether it makes sense or not. Delaria and Williams, as POTUS vulgar, ultra-thick stone and her ambitious all-encompassing bridesmaids, are an incredibly entertaining warrior couple, while Nakamura and Cooper beautifully capture the healthier aspects of the event. Or, at least, until they do.

Probably the most surprising thing is the greeting, from a long time ago dancing with the Stars The Broadway rookie professor put on a winning performance like a not-so-brilliant ruby ​​to show the ultimate of the most powerful and successful politicians that he’s not a mindless pushover. After responding to his country’s – or even his comrades’ call to divert the attention of some intelligence men, the only way this sexually liberated General Zer can do, Hugh kills with great dignity: “Hey!! We all serve in different ways …”

Stromman’s musical theater instinct comes into play as he gives House some dance numbers that may not be the full narrative meaning of this non-musical comedy, but what? When Hi starts with Boot Scootin ‘Boogie, POTUS It can take us almost anywhere you want to go.