‘POTUS’ gets elected to stage

11/4/2026

Tallgrass Theatre Company delivers a double whammy of sass in its 2026 Dream Project show, “POTUS: Or Behind Every Dumb Ass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive.” This year’s dreamer is Director Bridget Grace Scheaf. Scheaf was recently interviewed about this production, giving plenty of enticing insights into this witty, biting, satirical romp of a farce. Playbill described the show as “a White House PR nightmare spins into a legit shitshow, seven brilliant and beleaguered women must risk life, liberty, and the pursuit of sanity to keep the commander-in-chief out of trouble.” This sounds like the cutting-edge theatrical immersion sure to fill Tallgrass’ theatre.

CS: What drew you to this script ad submitting it to the Sara Frank and Jack Balcomb Dream Project?

BGS: I really love a good, sharp comedy that can center on women being funny, and being allowed to make mistakes and being allowed to not be perfect. I think this is particularly timely and apropos. I have always appreciated the work that Tallgrass has done, and was excited that they were excited about this particular (script).

CS: Please share some thoughts about your cast.

BGS: We are so lucky to have these seven incredible performers, plus a mostly female-identifying production team to center the women’s voices of this play. I could not be more thrilled with all of the people in this cast. They are so lovely and marvelous, and they’re game for anything, which you have to be in a script like this because it is a wild ride from the word go. 

CS: How did living in Washington, D.C., impact your artistic decisions?

BGS: We see the long-term impacts of the underlying current of distrust or chaos or dysfunction that the White House that is portrayed in the script, at least, has and how it affects the seven characters we get to know in the show. There’s a really interesting reminder there that I hope we get to bring out that it is just people creating all of this made-up system that we invented to try and live with each other better. Whether they accomplish this or not, they are still just people. They may make one decision because they forgot to eat lunch that day or say the wrong thing at a press conference, and all of a sudden it becomes a big policy initiative or it’s all people are talking about on social media. I think there’s something really humbling about all of that but also just very funny. It is, after all, a comedy. It’s really a farce. It’s running through doorways, it’s really physical with slap-sticky things that are happening. It’s a great background for how ridiculous (politics) can be. 

CS: Share something about the characters in “POTUS.”

BGS: I think what people will be really surprised about is the role of the First Lady. Donna Scarfe is playing that role. We never get to see the president in this play. We learn about his tendencies by what other characters say. The playwright (Sellina Fellinger) gives us this really interesting hint at the play with the character list where she lists the seven characters in order of their emotional proximity to the President. There’s a repeated line in the script is, “Why isn’t she president?” creating an interesting, repeated refrain. That is such a cool thing to be thinking about as these women are continually cleaning up the messes made by the President.

 

Plenty of family theatre to experience

While Tallgrass is catering to more adult tastes, there will be many great choices to consider taking first-time or young patrons to. This also gives the adults a chance to create a shared memory through live performing arts. 

Whisking many who are now parents back to their youth is the national tour of “Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock LIVE” for one performance only Nov. 6. From the incredible imagination of Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, share an immersion into the world of the Fraggles and more. Des Moines Performing Arts presents this Wellmark Family show, which offers a special VIP meet and greet package to help document this memory-making show.

CAP (Class Action Productions) Theatre brings a new musical to life with “Something Rotten! Jr.” as this company continues to bring a complete youth-driven concept and mission to irresistible life. 

Add the Playhouse’s Adventure Clubhouse performance of “The Princess and the Pea” especially designed to appeal to the youngest of audiences, and this month has a bounty of possibilities for every performing arts taste. ♦

John Busbee produces “The Culture Buzz,” a weekly arts and culture radio show on www.kfmg.org, covering Iowa’s arts scene with an inclusive sweep of the cultural brush. He received the Iowa Governor’s Arts Award for Collaboration and Partnership in the Arts. He has performed in more than 100 musicals, including many leading roles.