From Thursday, Dec. 4 to Sunday, Dec. 7, Wellesley College Theatre displayed a roaring comedy, “POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying To Keep Him Alive.” The cheeky script is the work of playwright and TV writer Selina Fillinger, who originally premiered the play on Broadway in 2022. The Wellesley community gave life to the script as cast and crew examined the meaningful, yet often overlooked, role of women in the workforce. The show was directed by senior lecturer and director of theatre and theatre studies Marta Rainer.
The play follows the many women who work and reside collectively in a male-centered workplace (the White House) to help one “dumbass man” survive — the President of the United States. Most of them risk their life, liberty and their pursuit of happiness in order to protect the reputation of the President. The show is a deeply sharp and witty political satire that shares a feminist message through jokes about bodily fluids, drugs and intercourse. The play parodies contemporary American Politics as it alludes to sexist scandals, Presidential affairs and scandalous pardons.
Actor Kathryn McMeyer ’29, who played Jean, a White House Press secretary, shared that “the whole point of the play is really, you don’t know what you’re getting into. That’s kind of what’s happening to the real administrations for these past few years. It’s just kind of made people go, holy, insert lots of swear words here.”
She added, “Sometimes if you don’t laugh, you’re going to start crying. So we try to laugh.”
Elana Maidenberg ’29, who played the anxious yet highly skilled Presidential Secretary Stephanie, shared that, “as someone who loves theater, has been doing it since she was little, it is such a cool thing to do my first semester in college with a show that is so relevant. This is a story where I see the news and I’m like, f*ck, this reminds me of rehearsal. Not in a good way.”
Cast member Firyal Quraishi ’29 added, “Doesn’t [the show] hit so much better in our current political climate? I think it’s great. I really resonate with Harriet [the character she portrayed] because, you know, sometimes we all just need to crash out about the state of our union. And, you know what? Why don’t we do it while having a great time and being funny?
The production of POTUS also created a meaningful community for many of its members, as Candace Beverly ’29 noted. “My roommate did this show too! I got to get really close with my roommate, and I made a bunch of friends. But it’s also just been a really fun way to start a semester.”
The underlying message these characters represent is how capable and powerful women are. A number of the women are constantly asked, “Why aren’t you President?” The show is a tragic yet heartwarming comedy about how womanhood can sometimes be shaped by a collective struggle to be seen and heard.
