POTUS: OR, BEHIND EVERY GREAT DUMBASS ARE SEVEN WOMEN TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE Previews
POTUS: OR, BEHIND EVERY GREAT DUMBASS ARE SEVEN WOMEN TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE Previews
#1POTUS: OR, BEHIND EVERY GREAT DUMBASS ARE SEVEN WOMEN TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE Previews
Posted: 4/13/22 at 12:00am
Inauguration Day is almost here!
The new comedy POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive begins previews tomorrow night at the Shubert Theatre, before an April 27 opening night. Written by Selina Fillinger and directed by Susan Stroman, this farce stars Lilli Cooper, Lea DeLaria, Rachel Dratch, Julianne Hough, Suzy Nakamura, Julie White, and Vanessa Williams. POTUS will serve a brief term through August 14.
“One 4-letter word is about to rock Pennsylvania Avenue. When the President unwittingly spins a PR nightmare into a global crisis, the seven brilliant and beleaguered women he relies upon most will risk life, liberty, and the pursuit of sanity to keep the Commander in Chief out of trouble.”
Who’s heading to the White House?
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#2POTUS: OR, BEHIND EVERY GREAT DUMBASS ARE SEVEN WOMEN TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE Previews
Posted: 4/14/22 at 6:42pm
Bumping this thread... is anyone going tonight?
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Dan6
Broadway Star Joined: 8/7/10
#3POTUS: OR, BEHIND EVERY GREAT DUMBASS ARE SEVEN WOMEN TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE Previews
Posted: 4/14/22 at 10:07pm
Eagerly awaiting reactions to this one. Other than maybe MJ, I think it’s the only Broadway opening this season that no one has ever seen.
jacobsnchz14
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/13/06
#4POTUS: OR, BEHIND EVERY GREAT DUMBASS ARE SEVEN WOMEN TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE Previews
Posted: 4/14/22 at 10:14pm
From photos on social, the curtain is traditional; red drape with gold tassels. And (one of?) the set looks like a White House conference with the podium, seal, blue walls, etc. Audience members received campaign buttons with the show logo on it. A few tweets are of the "funniest things I've seen in a long time", "haven't laughed this hard" variety.
hearthemsing22
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/14/20
#5POTUS: OR, BEHIND EVERY GREAT DUMBASS ARE SEVEN WOMEN TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE Previews
Posted: 4/14/22 at 10:16pm
I was there tonight!!
absolutely loved it. The cast is phenomenal. I do think they added in a bit of dancing just so Julianne Hough could have that moment, but it was still great!!! The people I went with thought the pacing was very fast, and they did stumble over some of the lines, but otherwise, I truly recommend this show.
Vanessa Williams stood out to me, as the FLOTUS, but honestly? I do not think there was a weak link here.
BoringBoredBoard40
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/27/21
#6POTUS: OR, BEHIND EVERY GREAT DUMBASS ARE SEVEN WOMEN TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE Previews
Posted: 4/14/22 at 10:38pm
so whats the actual plot?
also um what is happening here
#7POTUS: OR, BEHIND EVERY GREAT DUMBASS ARE SEVEN WOMEN TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE Previews
Posted: 4/14/22 at 10:51pm
.....are those.... heeled crocs?
Why am I strangely here for whatever chaos is in this image?
#8POTUS: OR, BEHIND EVERY GREAT DUMBASS ARE SEVEN WOMEN TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE Previews
Posted: 4/14/22 at 10:56pm
What in the community-theater-production-of-Mamma-Mia is happening in that photo???
#9POTUS: OR, BEHIND EVERY GREAT DUMBASS ARE SEVEN WOMEN TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE Previews
Posted: 4/14/22 at 11:09pm
Some videos of the aforementioned are up on the show’s Instagram stories.
jacobsnchz14
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/13/06
#10POTUS: OR, BEHIND EVERY GREAT DUMBASS ARE SEVEN WOMEN TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE Previews
Posted: 4/14/22 at 11:17pm
The cast sings Joan Jett And The Blackhearts' I Hate Myself For Loving You. Julianne also dances in the show, of course, as she should.
The show's socials created a playlist of music videos, including that song, and can be found here. https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIzELnJOAV1_E0O4W-lDn12ptAFlOrN4a
willep
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/08
#11POTUS: OR, BEHIND EVERY GREAT DUMBASS ARE SEVEN WOMEN TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE Previews
Posted: 4/14/22 at 11:18pm
Scarlet Leigh said: ".....are those.... heeled crocs?
Why am I strangely here for whatever chaos is in this image?"
Look like regular crocs to me. What I think my oh are seeing as a heel is just a bit of her dress.
jacobsnchz14
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/13/06
#12POTUS: OR, BEHIND EVERY GREAT DUMBASS ARE SEVEN WOMEN TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE Previews
Posted: 4/14/22 at 11:19pm
willep said: "Scarlet Leigh said: ".....are those.... heeled crocs?
Why am I strangely here for whatever chaos is in this image?"
Look like regular crocs to me. What I think my oh are seeing as a heel is just a bit of her dress."
Some tweets from audience members mentioned Vanessa goes back and forth between heeled crocs and regular crocs.
https://twitter.com/tinawargz/status/1514770501419233284
https://twitter.com/baytato/status/1514770040993697806
#13POTUS: OR, BEHIND EVERY GREAT DUMBASS ARE SEVEN WOMEN TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE Previews
Posted: 4/14/22 at 11:19pm
hearthemsing22 said: "I do think they added in a bit of dancing just so Julianne Hough could have that moment"
I haven’t seen the show, but I assumed they hired Julianne Hough BECAUSE there was dancing involved.
Dan6 said: “Other than maybe MJ, I think it’s the only Broadway opening this season that no one has ever seen.”
Flying Over Sunset too. Also, I’m assuming you’re not counting revivals that opened cold on Broadway - if so, there’s several more.
#14POTUS: OR, BEHIND EVERY GREAT DUMBASS ARE SEVEN WOMEN TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE Previews
Posted: 4/14/22 at 11:20pm
They're definitely heeled Crocs.
#15POTUS: OR, BEHIND EVERY GREAT DUMBASS ARE SEVEN WOMEN TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE Previews
Posted: 4/14/22 at 11:21pm
willep said: "Scarlet Leigh said: ".....are those.... heeled crocs?
Why am I strangely here for whatever chaos is in this image?"
Look like regular crocs to me. What I think my oh are seeing as a heel is just a bit of her dress."
One of the shared Instagram stories on the show’s account is a review that specifically calls out Williams wearing both unheeled and heeled Crocs.
#16POTUS: OR, BEHIND EVERY GREAT DUMBASS ARE SEVEN WOMEN TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE Previews
Posted: 4/14/22 at 11:22pm
Jesus, we all flew here to talk about heeled Crocs, myself included. I’m going to bed.
Sorry for the double post or whatever.
willep
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/08
#17POTUS: OR, BEHIND EVERY GREAT DUMBASS ARE SEVEN WOMEN TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE Previews
Posted: 4/14/22 at 11:22pm
Weird.
Dan6
Broadway Star Joined: 8/7/10
#18POTUS: OR, BEHIND EVERY GREAT DUMBASS ARE SEVEN WOMEN TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE Previews
Posted: 4/14/22 at 11:24pm
Dan6 said:“Other than maybe MJ, I think it’s the only Broadway opening this season that no one has ever seen.”
Flying Over Sunset too. Also, I’m assuming you’re not counting revivals that opened cold on Broadway - if so, there’s several more."
Yes, I was excluding revivals. But my bad for forgetting FOS, which I adored.
BoringBoredBoard40
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/27/21
#19POTUS: OR, BEHIND EVERY GREAT DUMBASS ARE SEVEN WOMEN TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE Previews
Posted: 4/14/22 at 11:27pm
so whats the plot....?
joshdog2014
Stand-by Joined: 2/9/18
#20POTUS: OR, BEHIND EVERY GREAT DUMBASS ARE SEVEN WOMEN TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE Previews
Posted: 4/14/22 at 11:44pm
This is one of those shows where I forgive all its faults because of just how funny it is. I can’t really complain if I was laughing nonstop. Making the plot make sense isn’t a priority for the show, having the characters really grow and such isn’t a priority, but both the plot and the characters set up all the comedy so well that it really doesn’t matter.
I agree there’s not a weak link in the cast, all seven are incredible and hilarious. Rachel Dratch was the standout for me, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a funnier performance.
I thought the set was great. It rotates between scenes to set the new location and it sometimes passed over different segments of it to show something else that was also happening, which often added a lot. And all the individual sets worked really well for their scenes.
I wasn’t a fan of the previously mentioned curtain call events. It didn’t feel like it exactly fit and it just distracted from what made me love the show. The ending itself also felt somewhat abrupt and unsatisfying, but it didn’t detract too much from the show as a whole.
Since I was expecting and hoping for a good comedy I got everything I could have possibly wanted out of this, but I’ll be interested to see what the general consensus is because if you’re not blinded by the comedy I could see different ways people might not like it.
For the person who asked about the plot: The current president is more incompetent than ANY there has ever been in real life. These seven women in his life have to deal with that in all the different ways it affects them. “Hilarity ensues.” I can give more details spoiler tagged if wanted
hearthemsing22
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/14/20
#21POTUS: OR, BEHIND EVERY GREAT DUMBASS ARE SEVEN WOMEN TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE Previews
Posted: 4/14/22 at 11:44pm
It’s about how the POTUS gets himself into hot water over something at top of the play, and how the women who work in the White House, but also…some others…try to fix what the POTUS did. It’s hilarious and chaotic, especially yes, with the curtain call that involved the song. That I didn’t quite get. But otherwise, I do recommend the show!
#22POTUS: OR, BEHIND EVERY GREAT DUMBASS ARE SEVEN WOMEN TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE Previews
Posted: 4/14/22 at 11:47pm
I saw it tonight and absolutely LOVED it!!!
It was hilarious, it was fun, and it knew exactly what it was.
The whole cast was AMAZING!!!! Vanessa Williams definitely stood out to out to me (THOSE OUTFITS). This is the second time I've seen her in a show this year where she has epic outfits, but I am DELIGHTED to say that they did not overshadow her this time around. Rachel Dratch Rachel Dratched and it was Rachel Dratch and that was amazing to see live! Rachel also definitely got the biggest applause. Julie White's Cheif of Staff character is the closest thing to a lead in this show and has great! My one critique is that she spends the whole show screaming and I think it would a) be better for her voice and b) land better if she struck a better balance between talking and yelling. Julianne Hough definitely surprised me the most. Her role is just SOOOO different from the way she is in real life (or at least the way she presented on AGT), but she did a great job! Lea Delaria did such a good job at making you love her and hate her and understand why all of the other characters love and hate her. She definitely got some of my favorite bits in the show! Lili Cooper was awesome and also got some of my favorite moments. She had a pair of great monologues in Act 2 too! Suzi Nakamura, however, might have been my favorite. I thought she was hilarious and really owned the first Act especially.
Some notes about technical stuff:
The set is a turntable with 4 rooms (you can only see one at a time). All 4 are just different rooms in the White House and they do redecorate some rooms while you can't see them, so you end up with more than 4 locations. There are also a few scenes where a curtain (not the drape, but a decorated one that makes sense in the moment) drops down and the scene happens in front of it. I thought they nailed the costumes for this, with Lea and Vanessa having particularly awesome outfits. The lighting, direction, sound, etc. didn't really stand out to me, but they weren't bad at all. There was one very cool lighting/sound-heavy scene right at the end of Act 1 that was neat though.
Some do NOTS for this show: DO NOT see this show IF vomit bothers you. There is a TON of vomit. There is also some blood and several full blackouts. I loved this show so much that I didn't mind, but they do usually freak me out a bit, so be warned.
This comment is SUPER long, so I'm gonna wrap it up here. But, I'm going to write another one about the plot too!
I hope that this show really lands because I loved it!
#23POTUS: OR, BEHIND EVERY GREAT DUMBASS ARE SEVEN WOMEN TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE Previews
Posted: 4/15/22 at 12:04am
Running time?
joshdog2014
Stand-by Joined: 2/9/18
#24POTUS: OR, BEHIND EVERY GREAT DUMBASS ARE SEVEN WOMEN TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE Previews
Posted: 4/15/22 at 12:08am
TaffyDavenport said: "Running time?"
Got out just past 10 after starting a little before 8:10 with a 15 minute intermission.
#25POTUS: OR, BEHIND EVERY GREAT DUMBASS ARE SEVEN WOMEN TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE Previews
Posted: 4/15/22 at 12:11am
Ok, so plot...
First of all, I do think this is a show where it's better to go in blind, so I'll give a quick non-spoiler description and then a more detailed one in spoiler tags.
Non-spoiler:
Basically, there is a VERY problem-prone President going through a few problems and a couple of minor scandals with a VERY busy, VERY important day ahead of him. The women who run the White House, White as his COS, Nakamura as his Press Sec, and Dratch as the President's secretary (along with Williams as FLOTUS), are forced to constantly clean up the messes he's making and keep his day on track. Unbeknownst to them, there are several high-profile scandals rocketing towards the White House (in the form of Hough and Delaria) that the four women will soon need to address as well as a very nosy journalist (Cooper) poking around. The problems crash land, everything goes to ****, and, as Joshdog said, hilarity ensues.
BIG SPOILERS:
Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content
Hough is his pregnant mistress and Delaria is his convict sister who he's pardoning because he's out of his mind. He has a secret health condition that makes it so he can't sit down for the time being and that's the driver of a lot of the problems. The first act is the three staffers dealing with the original problems and the mistress and sister showing up at the White House, causing more problems. Venessa Williams jumps between problem and problem solver throughout the first act.
At the end of the first act, all of the women come together when two different established groups collide. Cooper ends up hidden in a closet and records a VERY incriminating conversation. When she's revealed they all get into a fight trying to steal her phone to erase what she recorded. She throws a bust and hits POTUS in the head. They think they've killed him and the second act is them trying to cover it up while also not creating TOO much suspicion.
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