Reviews: See What Critics Had to Say About POTUS | Playbill

The Verdict Reviews: See What Critics Had to Say About POTUS

Vanessa Williams, Rachel Dratch, Lilli Cooper, and more star in the new play directed by Tony winner Susan Stroman.

The Company of POTUS Paul Kolnik

POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive officially opened at Broadway's Sam S. Shubert Theatre April 27 with a rare matinee opening performance, and the reviews are in. Twenty-eight year-old The Morning Show writer Selina Fillinger makes her Broadway debut as the work's playwright. Directed by Tony winner Susan Stroman, the limited engagement is set to run through August 14.

The work's all-star cast includes Tony winner Julie White, Tony nominees Lilli Cooper and Vanessa Williams, Lea Delaira, Rachel Dratch, Julianne Hough, and Suzy Nakamura. Hough and Nakamura make their Broadway debuts with the production.

Read the reviews below.

CitiTour NY (Brian Scott Lipton)

Daily Beast (Tim Teeman)

Deadline (Greg Evans)

Hollywood Reporter (Lovia Gyarkye)

New York Stage Review (David Finkle)

New York Sun (Elysa Gardner)

New York Theater (Jonathan Mandell)

New York Theatre Guide (Diep Tran)

The New York Times (Jesse Green)

Queerty (Merryn Johns)

Theatrely (Amanda Marie Miller)

Time Out NY (Adam Feldman)

Variety (Marilyn Stasio)

The Wrap (Robert Hofler)

Playbill will continue to update this article as reviews are published.

The work, a 2019 selection for the Killroys' List, is described as a "modern farce," centering on a PR nightmare that befalls the White House as seven female support staff risk everything to keep the commander-in-chief out of trouble. Cooper stars as Chris, DeLaria as Bernadette, Dratch as Stephanie, Hough as Dusty, Nakamura as Jean, White as Harriet, and Williams as Margaret.

Rounding out the company are understudies Anita Abdinezhad, Gisela Chípe, Jennifer Fouché, and Lisa Helmi Johnason. The production also features voiceovers from E. Clayton Cornelius, Richard Gatta, Pat Kiernan, Kevin Ligon, JC Montgomery, and Ari Shapiro.

POTUS features scenic design by Beowulf Boritt, costume design by Linda Cho, lighting design by Sonoyo Nishikawa, sound design by Jessica Paz, hair and wig design by Cookie Jordan, fight and intimacy direction by Rocio Mendez, and make-up design by Kirk Cambridge-Del Pesche. Casting is by Taylor Williams, with Johnny Milani serving as production stage manager.

The play is produced on Broadway by Seaview, Lynette Howell Taylor's 51 Entertainment, Glass Half Full Productions, and Level Forward, along with Salman Al-Rashid, Runyonland Productions, Sony Music Masterworks, One Community, Jay Alix & Una Jackman, Jonathan DeMar, Imagine Equal Entertainment, Lucas Katler, David J. Lynch, Leonid Makaron, Liz Slager, Ted Snowdon, Natalie Gorman/Tisch Brennan Throop, and The Shubert Organization, with Mark Shacket serving as executive producer. Level Forward also serves as impact producer, handling key partnerships with organizations supporting women running for office and voter registration.

Visit POTUSBway.com.

See New Images of Vanessa Williams, Julianne Hough, Lea Delaria, Rachel Dratch and the company of POTUS

 
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