Broadway's 'POTUS': Should these women save the president?

Broadway's 'POTUS': Should these women save the president?

Transcript¹

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

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 playwright   

n.剧作家，编写剧本的人

参考例句：

• Gwyn Thomas was a famous playwright.格温·托马斯是著名的剧作家。
• The playwright was slaughtered by the press.这位剧作家受到新闻界的无情批判。

3 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

4 farce   

n.闹剧，笑剧，滑稽戏；胡闹

参考例句：

• They played a shameful role in this farce.他们在这场闹剧中扮演了可耻的角色。
• The audience roared at the farce.闹剧使观众哄堂大笑。

5 slur   

v.含糊地说；诋毁；连唱；n.诋毁；含糊的发音

参考例句：

• He took the remarks as a slur on his reputation.他把这些话当作是对他的名誉的中伤。
• The drug made her speak with a slur.药物使她口齿不清。

6 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

7 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

8 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

9 gasp   

n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说

参考例句：

• She gave a gasp of surprise.她吃惊得大口喘气。
• The enemy are at their last gasp.敌人在做垂死的挣扎。

10 unpack   

vt.打开包裹（或行李），卸货

参考例句：

• I must unpack before dinner.我得在饭前把行李打开。
• She said she would unpack the items later.她说以后再把箱子里的东西拿出来。

11 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

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

参考例句：

• Many sufferers have been reclaimed from a dependence on alcohol. 许多嗜酒成癖的受害者已经被挽救过来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They reclaimed him from his evil ways. 他们把他从邪恶中挽救出来。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

13 subvert   

v.推翻；暗中破坏；搅乱

参考例句：

• The rebel army is attempting to subvert the government.反叛军队企图颠覆政府统治。
• They tried to subvert our state and our Party. This is the crux of the matter.他们是要颠覆我们的国家，颠覆我们的党，这是问题的实质。

14 ensemble   

n.合奏(唱)组；全套服装；整体，总效果

参考例句：

• We should consider the buildings as an ensemble.我们应把那些建筑物视作一个整体。
• It is ensemble music for up to about ten players,with one player to a part.它是最多十人演奏的合奏音乐，每人担任一部分。

15 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

16 farces   

n.笑剧( farce的名词复数 )；闹剧；笑剧剧目；作假的可笑场面

参考例句：

• Its repertoire includes historical plays, comedies, tragedies and farces. 京剧的曲目包括历史剧、喜剧、悲剧和笑剧。 来自互联网
• He likes to watch farces at weekends to relax himself. 他喜欢在周末看滑稽剧来放松自己。 来自互联网

17 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

18 scuttled   

v.使船沉没( scuttle的过去式和过去分词 )；快跑，急走

参考例句：

• She scuttled off when she heard the sound of his voice. 听到他的说话声，她赶紧跑开了。
• The thief scuttled off when he saw the policeman. 小偷看见警察来了便急忙跑掉。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

20 discourse   

n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述

参考例句：

• We'll discourse on the subject tonight.我们今晚要谈论这个问题。
• He fell into discourse with the customers who were drinking at the counter.他和站在柜台旁的酒客谈了起来。

21 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。