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POTUS Or, behind every great dumbass are seven women trying to keep him alive

This farce could not have played at a more appropriate time. Dolly Parton’s theme song to the film Nine to Five, where the women are working for an incompetent jerk, could have been used in this play.

A sharp exchange between Michelle Rabkin’s Harriet, the president’s Chief of Staff and Karla Acosta Ormond’s Jean, his jaded Press Secretary, starts things off. Jean is doing damage control.

Potus, who we never see, has described the first lady’s mood with the c-word, within hearing of the press. Chief of Staff Harriet is responsible for solving all the problems like this inside the West Wing and around the world.

There are no specific administrations referred to, but a little bit of this and a little bit of that let our imaginations run wild.

A disjointed beginning looking like a series of black out skits opens the play. In a farce about women holding things together for the men running the show, it works better when we see more of the cast.

Feisty Raven Douglas plays Chris, a White House reporter trying to get a scoop while, as a new mother, pumping milk in vacant offices. She’s hilarious.
Asoula 'Jasmine' Avegalio and Jules Weiss
Potus’s meek Secretary Stephanie (Jules Weiss) struggles to be an assertive watchdog for the President as she is barely tolerated by the other women.

Margaret, the FLOTUS, is fed up, “. . .because apparently these days it’s not enough to be wildly accomplished and deeply effective . . .I’ve launched free lunch programs in 6,000 public schools but all Twitter can twat about are the stilettos I wore to one homeless shelter.”

Harriet is trying to protect POTUS from Margaret’s marital outrage so he can focus on a nuclear non-proliferation meeting and a gubernatorial candidate endorsement, as well as other things of a private nature.

This play is vulgar and raunchy yet has clever, snappy political dialogue. Even in these irreverent times, I find myself flinching when I hear women embellish every comment with F-bombs. If you didn’t know better you might think you had walked into a production of Glengarry Glen Ross.

When Press Secretary Jean and journalist Chris exchange banter about which country has the right to pass judgement on which country, Jean retorts, “We’re in bed with their oil, not their gender politics.” Chris is not giving up though - she wants some dirt for a story.

Courtney Sutherland’s set comprised of multiple doors provides many comic moments. Popping through one of the doors comes Dusty, young and peppy Hannah Martinez-Crow. Dressed in the shortest of skirts, she tells Stephanie she is here for the position, wink, wink. She’s is trying to get by Stephanie to see the President. Martinez-Crow is a terrific dancer and she and Jules Weiss have a comic dance in the second act.
Hannah Martinez-Crow, Karla Acosta Ormond and Nicole Naffaa
Nicole Naffaa’s Bernadette plays the President’s previously incarcerated sister. Now she’s out sporting an ankle bracelet and planning to make off with Press Secretary Jean to Mongolia. They have a history and add to the continued chaos on stage.

A series of Keystone Cops-style chases concludes with a dilemma to be solved. Chris delivers such a fiery speech about the President’s inadequacy that Dusty, deeply inspired, shrieks, “. . .why isn’t SHE president?” These wild, crazy, slapstick women are enablers trying to keep someone in office who is unfit to be there.

POTUS by Selina Fillinger, directed by Anna Oglesby-Smith, lighting by Colin Mogilefsky, costumes by Maggie Brennan, sound by Enrico Banson, choreography by Sasha Holton, scenic design by Courtney Sutherland At Live Oak Theater, Berkeley - to September 26, 2026

Info: https://www.theroyalunderground.org

Cast: Michele Rabkin, Karla Acosta Ormond, Jules Weiss, Hannah Martinez-Crow, Nicole Naffaa, Raven Douglas, and Asoula ‘Jasmine’ Avegalio









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