Due to popular demand, Steppenwolf Theatre Company is pleased to announce its highly-anticipated Chicago premiere of Selina Fillinger’s outrageous farce POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive has added one additional week of performances, extending through Sunday, December 10, 2023. Single tickets beginning at $20 are now on sale for all POTUS performances at steppenwolf.org and the Box Office at (312) 335-1650.
Directed by Artistic Director Audrey Francis, this satirical, laugh-out-loud look at the women in charge of the man in charge will begin performances Thursday, October 26 in Steppenwolf’s Downstairs Theater, 1650 N. Halsted St. in Chicago. The press opening is Sunday, November 5 at 6 pm.
POTUS will feature ensemble members Celeste M. Cooper, Sandra Marquez, Caroline Neff and Karen Rodriguez with Karen Aldridge, Chloe Baldwin and Meighan Gerachis.
It’s just another (omg, wtf, lmfao) day at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. When a White House PR nightmare spins into a legit sh*tshow, seven brilliant and beleaguered women must risk life, liberty and the pursuit of sanity to keep the commander-in-chief out of trouble. POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive is a bawdy and irreverent look at sex, politics and the women in charge of the man in charge of the free world. Who knew that global crisis is always just a four-letter word away?
The creative team includes Regina García (Scenic Design), Raquel Adorno (Costume Design), Heather Gilbert (Lighting Design), Pornchanok Kanchanabanca (Sound Design and Composition), Almanya Narula (Fight Choreographer), Maya Vinice Prentiss (Intimacy Choreographer), Kate DeVore (Vocal Coach), Patrick Zakem (Creative Producer), Tom Pearl (Producing Director), JC Clementz, CSA (Casting Director), Laura D. Glenn (Production Stage Manager) and Kathleen Barrett (Assistant Stage Manager).
Selina Fillinger (Playwright) is an LA-based writer and performer. Original plays include The Collapse, Something Clean, Faceless and The Armor Plays: Cinched/Strapped. She recently made her Broadway debut with her seven-woman farce, POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive.Her plays have been developed at Roundabout Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club, McCarter Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Old Globe Theatre, Alley Theatre, St. Louis Repertory Theatre and Northlight Theatre. She’s currently commissioned at South Coast Repertory and Roundabout. She was a Hawthornden Fellow and a resident of McCarter’s Sallie B. Goodman Artist’s Retreat. Something Clean is the recipient of the 2019 Laurents/Hatcher Award and Cinched/Strapped received the 2019 Williamstown Theatre Festival’s L. Arnold Weissberger New Play Award. POTUS was on the 2019 Kilroys List. Selina wrote for the third season of Apple TV’s The Morning Show; she’s developing a feature with Chernin/Netflix and a pilot with Hunting Lane/Hulu.
Audrey Francis (Director) currently serves as Artistic Director of Steppenwolf Theatre, alongside Glenn Davis, where she has been an Ensemble member since 2017. She is an actor, director, educator and coach. Recent Steppenwolf performing credits include The Herd, Between Riverside and Crazy, The Fundamentals, The Doppelgänger (an international farce) and Dance Nation. Recent TV credits include Justified: City Primevil, Chicago Med, Chicago Fire and Empire. Recent film credits include Knives and Skin, Later Days, Distant Learners and the upcoming Perpetrator. She has taught acting in New York, LA, Toronto, Sydney, and Melbourne, as well as at The University of Chicago, The Theatre School at DePaul, and The School at Steppenwolf. Audrey is a professional acting coach for Showtime, NBC, Fox and Amazon, and is the co-founder of Black Box Acting.
Title: POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive
Playwright: Selina Fillinger
Director: Artistic Director Audrey Francis
Cast: Celeste M. Cooper (Chris) Sandra Marquez (Harriet), Caroline Neff (Stephanie) and Karen Rodriguez (Jean) with Karen Aldridge (Margaret), Chloe Baldwin (Dusty) and Meighan Gerachis (Bernadette).
Location: Steppenwolf’s Downstairs Theater,1650 N. Halsted St., Chicago
Accessible Performance Dates:
Audio-described and touch tour: Sunday, November 19 at 3 pm (1:30 pm touch tour, 3 pm curtain)
Open-captioned: Thursday, November 16 at 7:30 pm and Saturday, November 25 at 3 pm
ASL-interpreted: Friday, November 24 at 7:30 pm
Tickets: Single tickets for POTUS ($20 – $114) are now on sale at steppenwolf.org and the Box Office at (312) 335-1650. Steppenwolf Flex Memberships are also currently on sale: Black Card Memberships with six tickets for use any time for any production and RED Card Memberships for theatergoers under 30.
