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Broadway's 'POTUS': Should these women save the president?
A 28-year-old playwright2 is making her debut3 on Broadway tonight with a play set in the White House. Called POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive, the farce4 is complete with slamming doors, profanity and a cast of seven comic actresses, including Vanessa Williams and Rachel Dratch.
"The thing I love about farce is that it is tragedy that you laugh at," said playwright Selina Fillinger. "And there is so much tragedy around. And yet we still need to laugh in order to keep moving through it."
Here's the set-up: The President of the United States is a man who the audience never meets. And he's said a word, a slur5 against women, in front of a Chinese diplomatic delegation6 and the press corps7, causing a variety of crises which spiral out of control. Seven women, from his chief of staff to his press secretary to the First Lady, try desperately8 to save him.
"When they hear the first word, people are shocked and, you know, gasp9 a little bit," says Vanessa Williams, who plays the First Lady, "and then they know that they're in for an unconventional ride."
"When you think about it, often the things that we consider the most derogatory about women are curse words that are just referring directly to genitalia," said playwright Selina Fillinger. Her fall-down funny play asks a lot of questions.
"[I'm] trying to unpack10 the misogyny and assumptions that are just even in our vocabulary. And why is this word derogatory? Why is that an inherently bad thing? Why is it bad to call a woman this? Who decided11 that this is a bad word and made this into an oppressive thing? And can that be reclaimed12?" she asked.
Director Susan Stroman described the play as taking place in an alt universe where the president – his political party is never mentioned – abuses his power. "There are many people who are complicit with it, and it is about that too," Stroman said. "It is about a group of women who do what they can to save him. And then at one point, it's too much. And it asks that question about what happens if at one point no one does help him."
Playwright Fillinger said she wanted to subvert13 the classic forms of farce in POTUS. For one thing, the ensemble14 is entirely15 comprised of women. For another example, instead of having a woman running around in her underwear, which happens in many male-dominated farces16, a member of the press corps runs around with a breast pump. "The characters in the play are like all versions of women that I have seen or versions of women I have been," she said, "at various points of crisis or like high stakes. And then just taking that and blowing that up."
The play had initially17 been scheduled to open during the 2020 election, but COVID scuttled18 those plans. Yet Julie White, who plays the President's chief of staff, said she's pleased about the timing19. "People need to really laugh. And in some ways, to laugh about the states of politics and political discourse20, but not in a specific way. I don't want any more Trump21 jokes."
Stroman said yes, the play is funny - but in some ways, it's also a call to action. "Well, certainly the future is there, but it's going to be a fight," Stroman said. "And I think that's what Selina is saying, too. It's hopeful, but it's not hopeful without a fight."
1 transcript | |
n.抄本,誊本,副本,肄业证书 | |
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2 playwright | |
n.剧作家,编写剧本的人 | |
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3 debut | |
n.首次演出,初次露面 | |
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4 farce | |
n.闹剧,笑剧,滑稽戏;胡闹 | |
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5 slur | |
v.含糊地说;诋毁;连唱;n.诋毁;含糊的发音 | |
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6 delegation | |
n.代表团;派遣 | |
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7 corps | |
n.(通信等兵种的)部队;(同类作的)一组 | |
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8 desperately | |
adv.极度渴望地,绝望地,孤注一掷地 | |
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9 gasp | |
n.喘息,气喘;v.喘息;气吁吁他说 | |
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10 unpack | |
vt.打开包裹(或行李),卸货 | |
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11 decided | |
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的 | |
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12 reclaimed | |
adj.再生的;翻造的;收复的;回收的v.开拓( reclaim的过去式和过去分词 );要求收回;从废料中回收(有用的材料);挽救 | |
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13 subvert | |
v.推翻;暗中破坏;搅乱 | |
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14 ensemble | |
n.合奏(唱)组;全套服装;整体,总效果 | |
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15 entirely | |
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地 | |
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16 farces | |
n.笑剧( farce的名词复数 );闹剧;笑剧剧目;作假的可笑场面 | |
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17 initially | |
adv.最初,开始 | |
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18 scuttled | |
v.使船沉没( scuttle的过去式和过去分词 );快跑,急走 | |
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19 timing | |
n.时间安排,时间选择 | |
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20 discourse | |
n.论文,演说;谈话;话语;vi.讲述,著述 | |
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21 trump | |
n.王牌,法宝;v.打出王牌,吹喇叭 | |
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