By JESSICA NEU 

Not many plays open with the storyline of the President of the United States (POTUS) using a controversial four-letter word that begins with the letter C to describe his wife (FLOTUS) during a press conference that subsequently puts the country on the brink of war. POTUS’s Chief of Staff, Harriet, is mortified by the incident. Still, his Press Secretary, Jean, tries to downplay the faux pas and justifies POTUS’ words because he put a “y” on the end of the four-letter word and used it to describe the type of morning his wife was having, instead of directly calling his wife that name. 

POTUS: or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive is a hilarious comedic farce written by Selina Fillinger in 2022. The show is vulgar in all the best ways and keeps audiences laughing out loud for the entire 110 minutes. Seven women – Harriett, Jean, Stephanie (POTUS’ personal secretary), Chris (a journalist and mother of three), Margaret (FLOTUS), Bernadette (POTUS’s lesbian sister who is also a convicted drug dealer), and Dusty (POTUS’s mistress from Iowa). 

Last night, South Park Theatre’s series Park After Dark featured a table reading of this tremendous farce. Scripts in hand did not stop the ferocious cast of strong women from delivering each line with expert timing and intelligence, wit, and audacity. This ensemble comes together to answer Beyoncé’s longstanding question of “who run(s) the world?” And the answer is unequivocally women. We get the sense that POTUS’ term has already been quite the disaster, but his team of women is here to clean up yet another mess with his latest crisis. 

Underneath the chaos and hilarity of Fillinger’s script lies meaningful commentary focused on any woman who has ever tried to be recognized in a society dominated by the patriarchy. The play also showcases how beautifully diverse, multi-faceted, and strong women are. Harriet has spent her career clawing her way to the top in Washington, D.C., only to be repeatedly stopped by the proverbial glass ceiling. Jean is misunderstood yet strong and passionate. Chris is a mother to the point that she is running around the White House with breast milk leaking from her shirt. Bernadette desperately wants to be reformed and loved, but finds it difficult to break free from old habits. Stephanie is high-strung, seemingly new to the political landscape, and terrified of her next step. Margaret is an incredibly sharp and ambitious FLOTUS who is constantly overshadowed by her husband’s antics. She takes her frustrations out on the six other women, but almost understandably so. Most of Margaret’s anger is directed toward Dusty – POTUS’ pregnant mistress from Iowa. Dusty is a seemingly ditzy, holistic Gen-Zer from a small-town farm, but she inevitably reveals her own wit and dedication to sisterhood. 

The audience clearly appreciated the ongoing commentary on the current American political landscape and the strain it puts on women’s personal and professional lives. From one-liners about being in “bed with Bahrain’s oil, not their gender politics,” to Stephanie listening to a “bitch beats” playlist, to Jean telling a reporter to “get off my dick,” there was no shortage of timely political comedy. Especially germane was the discussion in Act 2 about how POTUS has spent the past three years insulting all our allies. Still, there is a limit to the amount of ethical currency that a country has before other countries begin to clap back. And America, as the women so aptly put it, “is broke.” 

As women and queer folk continue to be marginalized even when placed in positions of power and influence, we are reminded that they are the true unsung heroes who make everything happen behind the scenes. Chris and FLOTUS, both women of color, share an emotionally charged scene that reminds us not only of the complexities of female marginalization but also of women of color’s responsibility (or inability) to use their platforms to influence racial equality. 

Despite Park After Dark’s performance of POTUS being a table read, the message was still as clear as the night sky. Women are continuously called to a man’s side to clean up his mess related to power and abuse. Critics of this show argue that Fillinger’s script does not go far enough to talk about proverbially burning down the patriarchy. We see women come close to nervous breakdowns or rash, dangerous decisions, but we never see a true plan for takeover. Personally, I did not find the script lacking without this “next step” conclusion. We see seven strong, brave, undermined, and marginalized women operating one of the world’s most powerful spaces. They are messy, but their boss is messier. And the question of “why isn’t she/aren’t you president?” is raised time and again alongside the ongoing question of “how did he win?” The answer is simple – people fear the alternative. These seven women prove that female leadership is not scary, and that perhaps one day they can stop cleaning up the mess left by a ubiquitous POTUS who is, at best, a pyromaniac. The final line of POTUS: or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive says it best: “There’s a cunty dawn coming.”

DETAILS:

South Park Theatre’ s series Park After Dark presented POTUS: or Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive, with one table-read performance on June 5, 2026.

A cast list for POTUS was unavailable at the time of publication. We will add thecast list when received.

Next in South Park Theatre’s Park in the Dark reading series is Men in Boats on August 7th at 8 p.m. – Ten explorers. Four boats. One Grand Canyon. Men on Boats is the true(ish) history of an 1869 expedition, when a one-armed captain and a crew of insane yet loyal volunteers set out to chart the course of the Colorado River.

Categories: Reviews

Tags: Park in the Dark, POTUS: or Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive, Selina Fillinger, South Park Theatre