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POTUS
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.
Selina Fillinger's brilliant, all-female farce took Broadway by storm in a star-studded production that earned three 2022 Tony nominations.
Selina Fillinger's brilliant, all-female farce took Broadway by storm in a star-studded production that earned three 2022 Tony nominations.
96 pages, Paperback
Published August 24, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews
March 11, 2023
3.5, rounded up.
Farce is one of the hardest genres to get right on stage - it's why there are so few modern examples of such, and I think the last truly great one was probably back in 1969 (that would be Joe Orton's What the Butler Saw). A farce not only has to be zany, fast-paced, but have characters that can spout nonsense as if it were gospel truth. Fillinger strives mightily, but as the reviews show, it all gets a bit much by the second act. Still, the play managed a brief run on Broadway in difficult times and earned three Tony nominations - and that initial production boasted a plethora of comedic women taking on the frantic roles.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/27/th...
https://nypost.com/2022/04/27/potus-b...
Farce is one of the hardest genres to get right on stage - it's why there are so few modern examples of such, and I think the last truly great one was probably back in 1969 (that would be Joe Orton's What the Butler Saw). A farce not only has to be zany, fast-paced, but have characters that can spout nonsense as if it were gospel truth. Fillinger strives mightily, but as the reviews show, it all gets a bit much by the second act. Still, the play managed a brief run on Broadway in difficult times and earned three Tony nominations - and that initial production boasted a plethora of comedic women taking on the frantic roles.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/27/th...
https://nypost.com/2022/04/27/potus-b...
August 4, 2024
Can't wait for this one 😈
March 10, 2025
Oh my god this is so fucking funny. I would kill to see this live. The energy was just so high and all of the characters were so fun. Brilliantly written. I felt all the stakes and were invested in all of the characters. Such a funny dynamic and a very interesting play that focuses on very important topics. It was a beautiful balance of humor and important inspiring moments.
January 9, 2025
SOOOO FUNNY cackling out loud as im reading i love this playyyyyyyy
August 3, 2024
What an absolute delight. Would kill to play any of these characters.
March 21, 2024
Generally I liked this - it really is a Farce - and the Farce elements are dialled up way past even 11 in the Second Act.
As a director, I'm just not sure how you'd be able to stage this. I know this played on Broadway in the US, but I think it would be in one of the smaller West End houses at best in the UK, and possibly somewhere 'off West End' - and I don't know how you stage the last few scenes of Act Two in particular without some very clever technical wizardry, and/or a revolve. That said, you could make a screen version of this really effectively, especially with appropriate music over those chaotic later scenes.
I am slightly uncomfortable with the requirements for semi-nudity, which I'm not sure are needed, and there's a *lot* of different bodily fluids sloshing around - again, especially in the second act.
But overall, with the right space, and a cast who really committed to it, I can see this being a very effective spiral into how the women behind the men who hold power can do everything 'right', and still be viewed as replaceable at the slightest hint of an 'error'. FML, indeed.
As a director, I'm just not sure how you'd be able to stage this. I know this played on Broadway in the US, but I think it would be in one of the smaller West End houses at best in the UK, and possibly somewhere 'off West End' - and I don't know how you stage the last few scenes of Act Two in particular without some very clever technical wizardry, and/or a revolve. That said, you could make a screen version of this really effectively, especially with appropriate music over those chaotic later scenes.
I am slightly uncomfortable with the requirements for semi-nudity, which I'm not sure are needed, and there's a *lot* of different bodily fluids sloshing around - again, especially in the second act.
But overall, with the right space, and a cast who really committed to it, I can see this being a very effective spiral into how the women behind the men who hold power can do everything 'right', and still be viewed as replaceable at the slightest hint of an 'error'. FML, indeed.
January 10, 2024
Absolutely hilarious. Highly recommend!
June 24, 2024
I'm sure that, with the right cast, it's hilarious, but on its own it is one of the blandest girl-boss political statement I've read in play-form
March 19, 2023
Absolutely ridiculous and farcical. However, some of the language is kind of cringe and millenially but i enjoyed it nonetheless.
September 22, 2024
An annoyingly stupid mess.
November 28, 2024
A slick but manic farce with an excellent band of characters. A text I would have loved to have done at drama school.
June 19, 2024
A comedic romp through the white house.
August 31, 2024
love the quick and cutting dialogue!! seeing how these women interact with each other in the context of their shared relationships with potus.
December 27, 2025
Oh my god so fun so funny. I can’t imagine how fun this would be to see on stage.
March 21, 2025
LOVE THIS PLAY
So excited I get to be Harriet.
Women in power. Fuck yes.
Boo stinky men in power they suck and Harriet has every right to want to kill him.
So excited I get to be Harriet.
Women in power. Fuck yes.
Boo stinky men in power they suck and Harriet has every right to want to kill him.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 15, 2022
“Oh I’m sorry, is THAT the ethical line we’ve decided not to cross today?”
5 ⭐️
This play is absolutely phenomenal and holds up just as well over text as it does live. I can’t wait to see other productions of this in the future!
5 ⭐️
This play is absolutely phenomenal and holds up just as well over text as it does live. I can’t wait to see other productions of this in the future!
March 14, 2023
One of the most brilliant things I have seen onstage and it holds up to be just as amazing read. Could not recommend more.
October 10, 2022
Would love to see this, perform in this, or direct this. Or all of the above.
May 7, 2024
*3.5 stars*
A fun little play that I'm sure translates even better to the stage than to the written word!
Several parts were laugh-out-loud funny, and seeing them performed (at an audition) truly had everyone in stitches! That being said, I feel like this might be an odd one in that it is *too* fast-paced. I feel like having more moments to let the funny land would make it even better than punchline after punchline and crazy scene after crazy scene.
To the same extent, I feel like the millennial humour is another thing that will date "POTUS" in the long term: it really reads like 2012 boss-girl era feminism. Some of the jokes are a bit predictable, and things like Chris' breast pump, intended to be a political statement, come across a bit cringe to this Z-lenial. In addition, half of the characters swear so much that they kind of merge into one and I truly can't tell their personalities apart. It's that weird dichotomy where one well-placed swear can be so much more impactful than these f-bomb-infused monologues.
I truly loved the message of this play though, about girls helping girls, the struggles of juggling a career and motherhood, and most of all - how we set such a low-bar for some men in positions of power, whereas we expect the world from the women supporting them.
A fun little play that I'm sure translates even better to the stage than to the written word!
Several parts were laugh-out-loud funny, and seeing them performed (at an audition) truly had everyone in stitches! That being said, I feel like this might be an odd one in that it is *too* fast-paced. I feel like having more moments to let the funny land would make it even better than punchline after punchline and crazy scene after crazy scene.
To the same extent, I feel like the millennial humour is another thing that will date "POTUS" in the long term: it really reads like 2012 boss-girl era feminism. Some of the jokes are a bit predictable, and things like Chris' breast pump, intended to be a political statement, come across a bit cringe to this Z-lenial. In addition, half of the characters swear so much that they kind of merge into one and I truly can't tell their personalities apart. It's that weird dichotomy where one well-placed swear can be so much more impactful than these f-bomb-infused monologues.
I truly loved the message of this play though, about girls helping girls, the struggles of juggling a career and motherhood, and most of all - how we set such a low-bar for some men in positions of power, whereas we expect the world from the women supporting them.
June 22, 2024
I have some wildly conflicting feelings about this piece:
On one hand, it was undeniably hilarious, I love the all female cast, and I want to be involved with a production of this show in literally any capacity.
....on the other hand....does the farcical nature of this play actually pander to the opposite of what it's trying to say? I feel like this piece shouts the older-than-dirt argument that "women are too hysterical to work in politics" through a megaphone? I don't know? Something about the point the play was claiming to reach vs. the action that led us there just did not fully land for me.
On one hand, it was undeniably hilarious, I love the all female cast, and I want to be involved with a production of this show in literally any capacity.
....on the other hand....does the farcical nature of this play actually pander to the opposite of what it's trying to say? I feel like this piece shouts the older-than-dirt argument that "women are too hysterical to work in politics" through a megaphone? I don't know? Something about the point the play was claiming to reach vs. the action that led us there just did not fully land for me.
June 30, 2025
Absolutely hilarious play that draws you in from the opening line. We all have mornings like that, don't we?
A comedy that is a fun-house mirror held up to the United States, with a cast of uproariously funny women. The play is full of great one liners, physical comedy, and characters that are a lot of complex than first thought. A farce for the ages, and one I would encourage anyone and everyone to read.
Note: Does contain some pretty strong language from the opening lines, but if you're okay with that then you're set for the show.
A comedy that is a fun-house mirror held up to the United States, with a cast of uproariously funny women. The play is full of great one liners, physical comedy, and characters that are a lot of complex than first thought. A farce for the ages, and one I would encourage anyone and everyone to read.
Note: Does contain some pretty strong language from the opening lines, but if you're okay with that then you're set for the show.
September 15, 2024
This was both the most surreal and riveting play I’ve torn through in one sitting. At times darkly funny, poignant, and harsh, Filinger builds these women up as their circumstances threaten to tear them down. Each character has a distinct voice and humor that will carry over well on stage. At the time of this review, two towns I know are performing it, so I’ll definitely be getting myself a ticket.
March 26, 2025
I laughed so hard. A vibrant injection of irreverent and apropos humor. Absurdly, wickedly funny, bitingly sharp, and definitely hard-hitting. Behind the “optics” is an insane adrenaline rush of seven women making it happen. A mad dash of scheming, politics, motherhood, marriage, and realistically curdling female vulgarity.
More appropriate now than ever, especially in raising the question: “why isn’t SHE potus?”
More appropriate now than ever, especially in raising the question: “why isn’t SHE potus?”
August 3, 2025
Hilarious, and chaotic in the best of ways. Fillinger’s president combines the worst qualities possible, a philanderer, impulsive, insecure man that is propped up by all the women around him. So, what happens when the worst political decisions coincide with the worst personal choices, and the women reach the limit of the bullshit they can handle? A hilarious attempt to juggle as many shit-sandwiches as possible as long as possible, until the alternative becomes clear.
June 15, 2023
Does it try too hard at times? Absolutely.
Do I profoundly regret not experiencing it live with a stacked and hilarious cast? Also absolutely.
I spent the entire time wishing I wasn't wholly inappropriate for literally every role and wishing I could play each of them. I also wish I could teach this in one of my ELA classes - not sure what literary merit there is here but it would be so fun.
Do I profoundly regret not experiencing it live with a stacked and hilarious cast? Also absolutely.
I spent the entire time wishing I wasn't wholly inappropriate for literally every role and wishing I could play each of them. I also wish I could teach this in one of my ELA classes - not sure what literary merit there is here but it would be so fun.
October 30, 2025
It's fine to turn what feels like an SNL skit into a longer performance, if you have the material. I'm sure somewhere, someone's into it.
But two whole acts? The madcap political caper that unfolds loses its luster sort of quickly, even if the ensemble is objectively pretty good. It's not a show I would really want to see again, but I get who the audience is and I'm glad I saw it once.
But two whole acts? The madcap political caper that unfolds loses its luster sort of quickly, even if the ensemble is objectively pretty good. It's not a show I would really want to see again, but I get who the audience is and I'm glad I saw it once.
December 25, 2023
I’m so so sad I missed when stray cat did this play because the script is amazing, but stay away if you are easily offended/don’t like swearing… you don’t really need me to warn you as both of those things reveal themselves in the first page of the script…
June 3, 2024
If this I ever have the chance to see this performed live I would pay any amount of money. This play had me laughing out loud at every page. Seriously so funny and as a woman the jokes hit. One of the best comedic plays.
November 18, 2024
this is just a brilliant as i remember from seeing the show on Broadway. such a deeply funny exploration of the women who keep the country running and who clean up messes for us all. caution for those who might want to know: a lot of language is used in this play.
February 23, 2025
CERTAINLY an entertaining, topical, and poignant read. characters were each well thought out and hilarious in their own rights. imo it got a little bit cheeseball at some parts but overall i did enjoy this play. would KILL to see rachel dratch in the original production.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews