Seattle stages go political in ACT’s ‘POTUS’ and Village’s ‘Camelot’

Theater review

It’s true that when you’re in an election year everything feels political. But two recent openings at Seattle theaters are polar opposites that exist in interesting conversation with one another: One is about politics as we fear it is; the other, politics as we wish it could be. Each is marked by the interpersonal complexities that underpin the human decision-making that politics ultimately is. 

“POTUS”

The full title of Selina Fillinger’s play “POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive” probably tells you exactly which one of those shows this is. The fast-paced farce, directed at ACT Contemporary Theatre by Jillian Armenante, may center on an American president who we never see, but the real story is the behind-the-scenes chaos playing out among the women who, for better or worse, keep his career afloat. 

There’s the iron-willed chief of staff Harriet (Anne Allgood), desperate first lady Margaret (Gin Hammond), frantic press secretary Jean (Josephine Keefe), timid secretary Stephanie (Annette Toutonghi) and frazzled political reporter Chris (Ayo Tushinde).

As scandals of various sizes break out around these women, two more women (and scandals themselves) join them: the president’s jailbird sister Bernadette (Cassi Q Kohl) and a young woman named Dusty (Carly Corey) who can’t stop barfing up blue raspberry slushy.  

Don’t miss the chance to see Allgood and Toutonghi square off onstage — these two in particular seem tailor-made for their roles, and Corey brings a disarming earnestness to Dusty that makes her choices funnier and funnier as the disaster unfolds. 

“POTUS” premiered on Broadway in 2022, and the national political context sure has changed since then. Even so, if you’re a liberal, chances are that nothing in this script will be all that shocking; it will feel more like a warm bath of self-congratulations. Politically speaking, Fillinger’s script mostly parrots back to us familiar ideas — frustration at the incompetence of a male president, befuddlement at back seats taken by smart women who should be in charge, anger at the complicity of even well-meaning employees in propping up a rotten establishment. 

Fillinger’s script has plenty of laugh-out-loud funny moments, but I’d wager at least 30% of them are unpublishable in this publication, so consider yourself warned if you’re finicky about swearing or crude content (though crudeness really is a matter of opinion). 

Opening night had an unfortunate technical glitch that took the wind out of the show’s sails as it came crashing toward its finale, so I can’t say with any certainty how the show wraps up. But as it came barreling to an end, the cynical, commercial kind of catharsis felt pretty good, if somewhat safe and familiar — a primal scream heard through a karaoke mic. 

“Camelot”

Far from cynical, on the opposite end of the spectrum we have “Camelot.” This golden-era musical, particularly in this slim 2016 adaptation by “Frasier” creator David Lee, is first and foremost a love story, but that love story is underpinned by questions of morality, loyalty, jealousy, frailty, and yes, politics. 

The 1960 Lerner and Loewe musical became synonymous with the JFK White House, and as such, what some consider the halcyon days of American politics. 

This “Camelot,” at Village Theatre, is very presentational, bookended with a “we are going to tell you a story” framework, and the story between those bookends feels anemic, a thin reproduction of a rich original. This version cuts the overture (a classic-musical crime!) and gone, too, are the wizard Merlyn and Nimue, the Lady of the Lake, and with them all the magical elements of this story.

Instead, we have a story stripped down to its studs: a doomed love triangle, and a political leader determined to lead his people from violence and into a time of justice. For this spare version to work, that triangle has to be strong and compelling, and as directed by Village Theatre Artistic Director Adam Immerwahr, “Camelot” feels too muddy to really hook us. With no perceptible connection between Lancelot and Guenevere, it’s hard to care much who ends up with whom. 

The eight-person cast, led by the golden-voiced duo of Harter Clingman as Arthur and Jessica Skerritt as Guenevere, nobly tells the tale of the ancient king, his beloved wife and the handsome knight they both loved. Unfortunately, as Lancelot, Adam James King was vocally out of his depth; while his upper register soared, his lower notes disappeared into oblivion, which meant many of his lyrics got lost.  

After this love triangle has been going on for who knows how long (there’s little to no sense of how much time is passing), Arthur’s oily, illegitimate son Mordred (Nik Hagen, excellent) slinks onto the scene, seemingly out of nowhere and for no reason other than to forward the plot by sending Camelot — that ambitious, just kingdom — crumbling. 

Even so, the show still stirs up fascinating questions of human behavior, as it investigates the double standards of virtue, and the cost of sacrificing goodness for the sake of ideological purity. 

The Internet Broadway Database names 56 people (many of them just credited as “singer” or “dancer”) in the opening night cast of “Camelot” in 1960, among them Julie Andrews as Guenevere and Richard Burton as Arthur. A lush Lerner and Loewe score wants a lush, full orchestra and a rich vocal ensemble, but unfortunately those days are probably gone in the regional theater, and we are not getting them back. But maybe I’m just being cynical — after all, the days of noble knights may be behind us, but we can’t give up on the idea that a leader driven by fairness and justice exists. 

So, while “POTUS” is a fun, new play with no real new ideas, “Camelot” is an old play that can still make you think — and both can be relevant pieces of the cultural puzzle, particularly in an election year.