Reviewed by:

• Potus by Selina Fillinger, and: For Colored Girls … by Ntozake Shange
• Sonja Arsham Kuftinec

How does feminism perform on Broadway in the wake of Covid cautions, Supreme Court throw-downs, and challenges to “White American Theatre?” Two plays staged in neighboring theatres [End Page 89] offer some insights: the premiere of 28-year-old Selina Fillinger’s comedy POTUS, or Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive, and a revival of Ntozake Shange’s 1976 choreopoem for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf. Both productions featured seven-woman ensembles helmed by Tony-nominated director-choreographers. But where POTUS worked within the conventions of farce to critique the narcissistic and obtuse dimensions of presidential power and illuminate its less visible networks of female support, for colored girls reanimated a radical-spirituality-infused poetics that centered Black and brown women’s bodies supporting each other.

POTUS cast featuring (left to right) Vanessa Williams (Margaret), (Chris) Lili Cooper, Rachel Dratch (Stephanie), Julie White (Harriet), Julianna Hough (Dusty), and Suzy Nakamura (Jean). Photo: Paul Kolnik.

The Shubert production of POTUS connected to a Girl Boss energy in which “Bitch” playlists and power poses both animated and punctured the idea of empowerment. Mask requirements for audiences could not stifle the exuberance prompted by preshow pop songs featuring Annie Lennox and Pat Benatar, establishing a sonically energetic rather than visually specific orientation to the production. The curtain then rose on a White House setting (delightfully designed by Beowulf Boritt) that felt masculine and patriarchal: heavy wooden furniture and gold drapes flanked by portraits of a uniformed General Eisenhower and Roosevelt Rough Riders on dusty horseback. Executive power represented as sturdy warrior energy. Press Secretary Jean (Suzy Nakamura) punctured that energy linguistically with a four-letter word for female anatomy—launching the play’s action through a high-stakes exchange with harried Chief of Staff Harriet (a sneaker-clad Julie White). The linguistic transgression also set in motion one of many crisis-driven plot points. In this case, the President had publicly used the derogatory term to reference First Lady Margaret (a gutsy stiletto-Croc-clad Vanessa Williams). Opening the play with a shocking slur also launched a dynamic of rule-bending within the rule-keeping conventions of farce: bawdy bodies breaking boundaries of restraint while ultimately sustaining the status quo.

And Fillinger’s script crafts these women’s bodies as excessive. They leak breast milk in the Press Room (Lilli Cooper’s Chris, a journalist hunting for a scoop), smuggle drugs into the White House (Lea Delaria’s deliciously grungy Bernadette, the President’s sister), and vomit blue slushies into a vase (Julianne Hough’s Dusty, the President’s pregnant girlfriend). In the most memorable sustained performance of excess, former SNL star Rachel Dratch’s buttoned-up secretary character, Stephanie, lets loose after consuming hallucinogenic pills she [End Page 90] thought were Tums. The accidental ingestion led to a second act unraveling that concluded with a bloodied Stephanie surfing scenes in a pink plastic pool ring, clad only in granny panties, silken tank top, and Post-It notes.

This liberatory energy of excess pressed against a dramaturgy of containment—of crises, secrets and gaffes, as well as pregnant, criminal, and possibly dead bodies. The plot also details the daily labor of propping up this unnamed POTUS “dumbass.” As Harriet intones, “Today began with calling his wife ‘cunty’ while in the Diplomatic Room.” Indeed, as the women’s capacity for problem-solving unfolded several characters remarked to others, “You should be president!”

An intriguing dynamic emerged with the production illuminating the hidden details of manipulated narratives required to prop up this problematic president. The private becomes public and support figures take center stage. At the same time, even characters who function as agents of chaos emerge as savvier than they at first appeared. Defined initially by her status as the pregnant, rural, slushy...

审核人：

• Selina Fillinger 的Potus ，以及：对于有色人种的女孩…… Ntozake Shange 的
• 索尼娅·阿尔轩·库夫蒂内茨

在 Covid 警告、最高法院被驳回以及对“美国白人剧院”的挑战之后，女权主义在百老汇的表现如何？在相邻剧院上演的两部戏剧[第 89 页结束]提供了一些见解：28 岁的赛琳娜·菲林格 (Selina Fillinger) 的喜剧POTUS的首映式，或者每个伟大的笨蛋背后都有七个女人试图让他活着，以及 Ntozake Shange 1976 年的舞蹈诗的复兴对于考虑过自杀的有色人种女孩/当彩虹是enuf时。这两部作品均由托尼提名的导演兼编舞家执导，由七名女性组成。但是美国总统在哪里在闹剧的惯例下工作，批评总统权力的自恋和迟钝的维度，并阐明其不太明显的女性支持网络，因为有色人种女孩重新激活了一种充满激进灵性的诗学，这种诗学以黑人和棕色女性的身体为中心相互支持。

POTUS演员阵容包括（从左到右）Vanessa Williams（玛格丽特）、（克里斯）Lili Cooper、Rachel Dratch（斯蒂芬妮）、Julie White（Harriet）、Julianna Hough（Dusty）和 Suzy Nakamura（Jean）。照片：保罗·科尔尼克。

POTUS的舒伯特作品与 Girl Boss 能量相关，其中“Bitch”播放列表和力量构成既活跃又刺破了赋权的想法。对观众的面具要求无法扼杀安妮伦诺克斯和帕特贝纳塔尔的预演流行歌曲所引发的繁荣，为制作建立了一种声音上的活力而不是视觉上的特定方向。随后，白宫的布景（由贝奥武夫·博里特 (Beowulf Boritt) 精心设计）拉开帷幕，给人一种男性化和父权制的感觉：厚重的木制家具和金色的窗帘，两侧是穿着制服的艾森豪威尔将军和骑在尘土飞扬的马背上的罗斯福骑手的肖像。执行力表现为坚强的战士能量。新闻秘书吉恩（中村秀智饰）用一个四个字母的女性解剖学词在语言上打破了这种能量——通过与烦躁的参谋长哈里特（穿着运动鞋的朱莉怀特）进行高风险的交流来启动该剧的动作。语言越界也引发了许多危机驱动的情节点之一。在这种情况下，总统曾公开使用贬义词来指代第一夫人玛格丽特（穿着鳄鱼皮细高跟鞋的凡妮莎·威廉姆斯）。以令人震惊的诽谤开场也在闹剧的遵守规则的惯例中引发了规则弯曲的动态：淫秽的身体打破了克制的界限，同时最终维持了现状。总统曾公开使用贬义词来指代第一夫人玛格丽特（穿着鳄鱼皮细高跟鞋的凡妮莎·威廉姆斯）。以令人震惊的诽谤开场也在闹剧的遵守规则的惯例中引发了规则弯曲的动态：淫秽的身体打破了克制的界限，同时最终维持了现状。总统曾公开使用贬义词来指代第一夫人玛格丽特（穿着鳄鱼皮细高跟鞋的凡妮莎·威廉姆斯）。以令人震惊的诽谤开场也在闹剧的遵守规则的惯例中引发了规则弯曲的动态：淫秽的身体打破了克制的界限，同时最终维持了现状。

菲林格的剧本将这些女性的身体塑造得过于夸张。他们在新闻发布室泄漏母乳（Lilli Cooper 扮演的 Chris，一名寻找独家新闻的记者），将毒品走私到白宫（Lea Delaria 扮演的总统妹妹，邋遢可口的 Bernadette），并将蓝色泥浆吐进花瓶（Julianne Hough 扮演的 Dusty ，总统怀孕的女友）。在最令人难忘的持续过度表演中，前SNL明星雷切尔·德拉奇 (Rachel Dratch) 的保守秘书角色斯蒂芬妮 (Stephanie) 在服用了她[第 90 页结束]认为是 Tums 的致幻药后放松了。意外摄入导致第二幕解开，最后以血腥的斯蒂芬妮冲浪场景结束，她穿着粉色塑料泳池环，只穿着奶奶内裤、丝质背心和便利贴。

这种过度的解放能量与戏剧性的遏制——危机、秘密和失态，以及怀孕、犯罪和可能的尸体——形成鲜明对比。该情节还详细描述了支持这个未命名的美国总统“笨蛋”的日常工作。正如哈丽雅特吟诵的那样，“今天开始是在外交室时称他的妻子为‘cunty’。” 事实上，随着女性解决问题能力的展现，一些人物对其他人说：“你应该当总统！”

制作中出现了一个有趣的动态，阐明了支持这位有问题的总统所需的操纵叙事的隐藏细节。私人变得公开，支持人物成为焦点。与此同时，即使是充当混沌代理人的角色也比最初出现时更精明。最初由她的身份定义为怀孕，农村，泥泞......