POTUS by Selina Fillinger

Helen Hayes nominations for Outstanding Director, Outstanding Ensemble & Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Play: Megan Hill, Naomi Jacobson, Sarah-Anne Martinez

Starring Felicia Curry, Megan Hill, Yesenia Iglesias, Naomi Jacobson, Sarah-Anne Martinez, Kelly McAndrew, and Natalya Lynette Rathnam

Scenic Design by Reid Thompson

Costume Design by Ivania Stack

Lighting Design by Marika Kent

Original Music and Sound Design by Sinan Refik Zafar

Assistant Director: Kayla Warren

Wig and Hair Designer: Tommy Kurzman

Dialect and Vocal Coach: Lisa Nathans

Dramaturg: Otis Ramsey-Zoe

Production Stage Manager: Christi B. Spann

Assistant Stage Manager: Dayne Sundman

All photos taken by Margot Schulman and Kian McKellar for the Arena Stage 2023 production

PRESS:

The Washington Post: “The votes have been tabulated. POTUS at Arena Stage is a winner. Selina Fillinger’s White House farce was a riot last year on Broadway, and it’s even funnier in D.C.”

“Treating them right in Selina Fillinger’s White House romp means giving them all thunderous applause, and that goes, too, for director Margot Bordelon, who puts the actresses through their priceless paces on Arena’s Fichandler Stage.”

“This varsity team is managed superbly by Bordelon, who knows how to generate consistent comic friction.”

“‘POTUS’ has been so well cast that it is unnecessary to suggest that anyone outdoes anyone else.”

- Peter Marks, The Washington Post

“Given how many moving pieces there are in this production, it quickly could have devolved into theatrical chaos. Yet, director Margot Bordelon figures out exactly how to transform any such chaos into an evening of endless entertainment.”

“…the cast they’ve assembled handles the dialogue quite exquisitely… it really is in some ways like witnessing a marathon—the baton passed with perfect timing from one performer to the next…you truly have to experience it firsthand to understand the depth and dimension that the production values achieve on this one”

- Anne Valentino, MD Theatre Guide

“Director Margot Bordelon makes masterful use of the Fichandler’s in-the-round configuration. Utilizing all four stage-level entrances in equal measure, plus the upper perimeter of the audience, Bordelon engages the entirety of the sprawling space to immerse her viewers in the chaos…POTUS is an exhilarating night in the theater.”

- D.R. Lewis, DC Theater Arts

“Margot Bordelon’s fleet, sleek, in-the-round production”

“Bordelon, the cast, and crack stage management team keep the play’s rapid series of entrances, exits, and fiery têtes-à-têtes paced with precision… The production moves like a well-oiled machine.”

- André Hereford, Metro Weekly

“The cast is up to the task and never misses a beat. Margot Bordelon directs with precision and timing, especially challenging on Arena’s large stage with few furnishings.”

- Paul Webb, A Theatre-Goer's Thoughts

“[Bordelon] has created a show in which the acting, stagecraft, sound, lighting, and overall ambiance echo the frantic pace and intensity of the script. The diversity of representation is notable, in race, sexuality, the presentation of femininity, and the ways women approach power, success, and the pursuit of happiness.”

“POTUS delivers a gorgeous spectacle of comedy, drama, intensity, joy, and sisterhood.”

- Norah Vawter, DCTRENDING

“director Margot Bordelon is to be commended for managing the quick action and dialogue delivery among the cast”

“this all-female cast is dynamic, delivering strong, agile, and unforgettable performances”

- Brenda Siler, The Washington Informer

“Director Margot Bordelon has brought together seven accomplished actresses on the in-the-round Fichandler Stage to tell the riotous story of one bad day in the life of a (never-seen) President of the United States, or POTUS, through the women in his orbit….Arena Stage has gone all out with its effervescent production”

- Susan Berlin, Talkin' Broadway

“Director Margot Bordelon cleverly uses the theater-in-the-round technique on the Fichandler Stage to reflect the fishbowl that is the West Wing, employing the aisles for the breakneck chases that ensue…. Highly recommended. A flat-out, genius, madcap comedy!”

- Jordan Wright, The Zebra

“Director Margot Bordelon has brought Selina Fillinger’s riotous comedy to the Arena Stage, much to the delight of D.C. residents”

- Nora Scully, The Georgetown Voice

“Arena Stage lands a superb comedic punch with POTUS… funny, unique, riotous, reflective, satirical, sharp, energetic, frenetic, powerful… Arena’s production of POTUS is, in a word, outstanding.”

- Jake Bridges, BroadwayWorld