'POTUS' On Stage at Arden Theatre Company Sept. 12-Oct. 6

ByKaren Rogers and Steph Walton WPVI logo
Monday, September 9, 2024 3:39PM
Arden Theatre hosts political show 'POTUS', Sept. 12-Oct. 6
Arden Theatre Company is presenting a political farce, called 'POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive'.

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Arden Theatre Company is presenting a political farce, called 'POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive'.

Jennifer Childs directs the production, which she says has strong ladies and strong language.

It's an all-female, ensemble cast.

"And it's just a really ferocious and funny group of women," says Childs. "And they are all women who are connected to the president of the United States in some way."

She says these seven women are trying to save the country behind the scenes.

Rachel Leslie is playing Margaret, the First Lady in the production.

"She is a Renaissance woman," says Leslie. "And she excels at everything that she does."

Unlike FLOTUS, POTUS has gotten himself into a pickle.

"The president makes an error. He calls someone a very bad name, which causes a huge media storm, and all of these ladies have to try to contain the situation," says Childs.

"I'm playing Jean, the press secretary," says Karen Peakes. "She immediately starts spinning it and looking for the bright side."

But it spirals out of control.

"The things that happen are incredibly dramatic and farcical, as often happens with politics," says Childs.

"For three years of his administration, that's all they've been doing is propping him up, and saving him from mistake, after mistake, after mistake," says Peakes.

Childs says POTUS in the play is "not a real president."

"It's an amalgamation of all of them," she says. "So some people will watch and go 'oh, that's definitely Clinton,' or 'oh, that's definitely Trump.'"

Other players in POTUS' life include his personal secretary, his girlfriend and his chief of staff.

"She's the one that has the most kind of fall on her shoulders," says Childs.

There's a journalist too, and the president's sister.

Childs says his sister is fresh "out of jail and hoping for a presidential pardon."

"It's incredibly physical," she says. "Very, very funny."

"Everybody has their voice," says Peakes. "The heart is that women are powerful, especially when we work together."

'POTUS' runs September 12 through October 6 at the Arden Theatre Company.

'POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive' | Tickets

Arden Theatre Company

40 N. 2nd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19100