By: Darryl Reilly
“Don’t you have a prostate to stimulate?” “I should have known you were here due to the smell of limes and yeast infections,” and “We all have cunty mornings,” are among the numerous zingers tossed off by playwright Selina Fillinger in her riotous, all-female political satire, POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive. We are in in the Oval Office, the licentious male President who is running for reelection is accidentally killed offstage by the thrown bust of a suffragette hitting his head; The Front Page meets The West Wing.
POTUS opened on Broadway in 2022 and ran for 126 performances: it starred Vanessa Williams, Julie White, Rachel Dratch and Lea DeLaria. This uproarious revival is presented by the Queens-based troupe City Gate Productions; it is performed by a dynamic cast at The Secret Theatre, in Woodside.
With James Cagney-style pizzaz, the silver haired and pin-striped Marianne Goodell is a wacky whirlwind as the chief of staff vigorously ambling around while spouting rat-a-tat dialogue. The luminous Chanel Mack is a wickedly wisecracking and wily First Lady. Charismatic LaRelle Gee is supremely outrageous as a feisty muckraking reporter.
The lean and wiry Erin Layton is a madcap marvel as the haughty gay press secretary. Her drug dealing ex-partner is delightfully played by the serene yet gutsy Tania Kass, who is in full throttle also being the President’s sister angling for a pardon. Margaret Leisenheimer is gloriously ditzy as the President’s farmer’s daughter mistress; her eager offer to perform oral sex on two Secret Service agents is priceless. Vivacious Farah Diaz-Tello is marvelously loopy as a secretary who mistakenly ingested six TUMS which are actually narcotics.
Slamming doors, precise slapstick and breakneck pacing, are the hallmarks of Christina Shea-Wright’s snappy direction which realizes this farcical play’s verbal and physical humor. Fight choreographer Travis Youssef creates several commanding clashes. Scenic and prop designer Jorden Charley-Whatley’s White House set is of clever, small-scale authenticity. Grace Wylie’s zany costume design depicts each character with flair. Stage manager Kerryclare Gleason oversaw the sharp performance under review.
On Broadway, POTUS was given an overblown production which overwhelmed its comedic effects. This smashing incarnation lands every joke, and all the biting observations register; laugher abounds.
POTUS (through March 23, 2025)
City Gate Productions
The Secret Theatre, 38-02 61st Street, in Woodside, Queens
For tickets, visit www.citygateproductions.org
Running time: 90 minutes including one intermission