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Trinity’s POTUS Features Fearless Lunacy

[CREDIT: Marisa Lenardson] Trinity's 'POTUS' runs through Sept. 22, then Oct. 10 – 27 at Trinity Repertory Company, 201 Washington St., Providence. From left, actors Rachael Warren, Deb Martin and Jackie Davis during one of the comedy's irreverent scenes.

[CREDIT: Marisa Lenardson] Trinity's POTUS runs through Sept. 22, then Oct. 10 – 27 at Trinity Repertory Company, 201 Washington St., Providence. From left, actors Rachael Warren, Deb Martin and Jackie Davis during one of the comedy's irreverent scenes.
[CREDIT: Marisa Lenardson] Trinity’s POTUS runs through Sept. 22, then Oct. 10 – 27 at Trinity Repertory Company, 201 Washington St., Providence. From left, actors Rachael Warren, Deb Martin and Jackie Davis during one of the comedy’s irreverent scenes.
[CREDIT: Marisa Lenardson] Trinity's POTUS runs through Sept. 22, then Oct. 10 – 27 at Trinity Repertory Company, 201 Washington St., Providence. Above, the all-woman cast gathers during one of the comedy's irreverent scenes.
[CREDIT: Marisa Lenardson] Trinity’s POTUS runs through Sept. 22, then Oct. 10 – 27 at Trinity Repertory Company, 201 Washington St., Providence. Above, the all-woman cast gathers during one of the comedy’s irreverent scenes.
PROVIDENCE, RI —In the midst of a crazier than usual election season, Trinity Repertory Company  presents a production of fearless lunacy with Trinity’s POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive.”

Playwright Selina Fillinger’s bawdy satire, which opened on Broadway in 2022, takes on power, privilege, and even purple pantsuits. The President’s perpetually harried Chief of Staff (Mary Potts Dennis substituting for Deb Martin), hard-bitten Press Secretary (a sublime Rachael Warren), and Secretary (Jenna Lea Scott) have to deal with a million and one crises.

Chief among them is Dusty (Tay Bass), a brazen farmgirl from Iowa who is pregnant with the President’s baby; Bernadette (Rachel Dulude), the President’s sister who deals drugs to the White House staff and is seeking a pardon, and First Lady Margaret (Jackie Davis), a woman with a steely exterior and a lot of style.

Without going to specifics, there is a shocking plot development at the end of the first act in Trinity’s POTUS. These motley group of women, including an intrepid reporter (Sara States) have to band together to save the country – if they can refrain from killing each other first.

Under Curt Columbus’s direction, the all female ensemble plunge ahead fearlessly into 100 minutes of unrestrained lunacy. “POTUS” is an ideal showcase for these first-rate performers.

This is not some idealized vision of politics like the classic television series “The West Wing.” It’s a raw and scathing depiction of the cynicism and human frailties which impact the people at the top levels of our government.

Davis, fresh off her electrifying turn in last March’s “Fences,” is alternately regal and vulnerable as the long suffering Presidential spouse. An ongoing gag is the colorful footwear belonging to the First Lady.

Dulude threatens to walk away with the show with a brilliant comic performance. Bernadette never holds back her true feelings and the results are wickedly funny.

Bass, a relative stage newcomer, endows Dusty with an almost metaphysical elasticity as she shakes, shimmies, and gyrates to the delight and mystification of the other ladies.

Scott (“La Cage aux Folles”) deserves special mention for the increasingly wacky antics her character is required to engage in. 

Technically, the production is outstanding. Collette Pollard’s scenic design is a magnificent recreation of what an executive office looks like. Shahrzad Mazaheri’s costumes and Dawn Chiang’s evocative lighting are also top notch.

Trinity‘s POTUS succeeds at what it sets out to do, which is to provide a no holds barred comedic experience. Fillinger’s dialogue is often crude and vulgar, which includes references to various sexual acts and pecadillos. This is not some idealized vision of politics like the classic television series “The West Wing.” It’s a raw and scathing depiction of the cynicism and human frailties which impact the people at the top levels of our government.

One of the points which Fillinger raises is how Americans could continually support men, in many cases, dishonorable men, as the leader of the free world. Is it because we are afraid of women having that much power? 

That’s an interesting theory, one I wish had been given more attention to in this show.  This could be the year that America finally elects a woman President. Maybe it’s time. As Trinity’s POTUS shows, women have been cleaning up men’s messes for years.

Trinity’s POTUS runs through Sept. 22 and then resumes its run from Oct. 10 – 27. Trinity Repertory Company, 201 Washington St., Providence. For tickets, call 401-351-4242 or visit www.trinityrep.com.

Joe Siegel
Author: Joe Siegel

Joe Siegel is a regular contributing writer for WarwickPost.com. His reporting has appeared in The Sun Chronicle in Attleboro and EDGE.

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