Rachel Dratch, Lilli Cooper, Lea DeLaria, Julianne Hough, Suzy Nakamura, Julie White and Vanessa Williams will star in the just-announced Broadway comedy POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive this spring.
The play by Selina Fillinger – a writer on Apple TV’s The Morning Show making her Broadway debut – begins a strictly limited engagement at the Shubert Theatre on Thursday, April 14, with opening night set for Monday, May 9. Five-time Tony winner Susan Stroman (The Producers, The Scottsboro Boys)will direct. The limited engagement will run through Sunday, August 14.
Produced by the Tony Award-winning production company Seaview (Slave Play), Lynette Howell Taylor’s 51 Entertainment, Glass Half Full Productions and Tony-winning entertainment company Level Forward (What the Constitution Means to Me), the production will mark the world premiere of POTUS.
POTUS is described as a modern farce: “One four-letter word is about to rock 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. When the President unwittingly spins a PR nightmare into a global crisis, the seven brilliant and beleaguered women he relies upon most risk life, liberty, and the pursuit of sanity to keep the commander-in-chief out of trouble.”
In an exclusive statement to Deadline, former Saturday Night Live cast member Dratch said, “I’m thrilled to be making my Broadway debut in POTUS, a play packed with lady power!! I’m so looking forward to working with this cast of super-talented women, in a play written by a woman, all under the direction of the legendary Susan Stroman, or as I shall be calling her, from here on out, ‘Stro.’”
Director Susan Stroman stated, “I could not be more excited to be headed to the Shubert Theatre this spring with Selina Fillinger and POTUS. Selina’s wickedly funny satire questions how complicit we really are in the woes of the world — and what would happen if we simply stood back instead of continuing to empower the leaders who got us to where we are in the first place. Truly, it’s an honor to work with her and this incredible cast of women. I am thrilled this comedy is part of Broadway’s return—we all need to experience a good laugh right now.”
“Growing up in Oregon, long before I could fathom working on Broadway, all I wanted was to glimpse it,” says playwright Fillinger. “To be premiering my play at the Shubert, with this extraordinary cast and the legendary director, Susan Stroman, is quite literally the stuff of dreams. I hope the show offers joy, folly, and the strength to keep fighting at a time when the world needs all three.”
POTUS will feature Scenic Design by Beowulf Boritt, Costume Design by Linda Cho, Lighting Design by Sonoyo Nishikawa and Sound Design by Jessica Paz, Hair and Wig Design by Cookie Jordan. Intimacy and Fight Direction is by Rocio Mendez.
The producing team also includes Salman Al-Rashid, Sony Music Masterworks, Mark Gordon Pictures, Imagine Equal Entertainment, Jonathan Demar, Luke Katler, Thomas Laub, and David J. Lynch. Lead Producer Level Forward will also be serving as Impact Producer for the play and will announce key partnerships in the coming weeks with organizations that support women running for office and voter registration.
The playwright is an LA-based writer and performer whose other plays include Something Clean, Faceless; and Armor Plays: Cinched/Strapped. She currently writes for the third season of Apple TV’s The Morning Show, and is developing a feature for Chernin/Netflix.
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