From left, Shelby Wray, Rebecca Drew, Jackie Taylor and Tammy Geisbrecht run around the stage in an attempt to prevent Wray from releasing an article surrounding the president's latest scandal in a late Act 1 scene.--News Photo Anna Smith
asmith@medicinehatnews.com
The stage is almost set for Medicine Hat Musical Theatre’s next production, a humorous and all too real look at behind the scenes of keeping some men in power.
POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive, is a 2022 play written by Selina Fillinger, something local director Travis Boser was fortunate to see on Broadway during its run. He says the story hooked him right away, from the deeply comedic and raunchy sense of humour, to the references to various U.S. presidents throughout history.
“The playwright is very specific. When I got the script, the playwright was very specific at the beginning. There’s a little tagline that says, like, you know, while you might feel this is about one particular president, it’s an amalgamation of all of them,” said Boser.
A president is never actually featured on stage, with the story instead focusing on the titular seven women who try their best to keep afloat among various scandals that arise over the course of the play as a small, dialogue-driven cast.
Tammy Geisbrecht, who plays Margaret, the First Lady, says the experience has been an excellent first foray into theatre in many years, as she has not performed beyond one two-night show in her early 20s.
“We’ve got a great cast that are all super friendly and welcoming,” said Geisbrecht. “Some of them have done a number of shows in one way or the other, whether it was on stage or behind the scenes, then I think there’s at least two of us that are new.”
The role has taken some historical research and a lot of work to bring the strong and poised character of Margaret to the stage, says Geisbrecht, but she has enjoyed every step of the way.
POTUS is definitely a show for adults, says Boser, with a healthy amount of adult theme and humour throughout. It is also, in his own words, “wildly funny” as the various issues and scandals start to unfold.
“It’s very farcical humour. We’re rehearsing three nights a week and when you rehearse, you’re going over those same scenes over and over again,” said Boser. “We’re having to stop because we’re laughing so hard at it, even though we know what’s coming.”
He estimated that at the time of writing, roughly 60 per cent of tickets have been sold, but advised those interested in the performance to move quickly, as they are unlikely to last much longer.
