{"id":448997,"date":"2026-08-31T16:56:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T16:56:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/448997\/"},"modified":"2026-08-31T16:56:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T16:56:12","slug":"potus-is-a-blistering-feminist-satire-coming-to-berkeley-this-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/448997\/","title":{"rendered":"‘POTUS’ is a blistering feminist satire coming to Berkeley this month"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s an old saying: \u201cBehind every successful man, there is a good woman.\u201d But in the case of playwright Selina Fillinger\u2019s \u201cPOTUS,\u201d there are seven extraordinary women.<\/p>\n

In her blistering feminist satire, Fillinger imagines a team of seven exhausted women managing the everyday political chaos and one catastrophe after another for America\u2019s commander-in-chief.<\/p>\n

Inspired by the realities of today\u2019s polarized government, \u201cPOTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive\u201d features quickfire intelligence and verbal precision in this wildly entertaining play about power.<\/p>\n

Produced by The Royal Underground Theatre Company, \u201cPOTUS\u201d runs Sept. 11-26 at Berkeley\u2019s Live Oak Theater on 1301 Shattuck Ave.<\/p>\n

Director Anna Oglesby-Smith approaches the play as a celebration of the resilience and quick-witted brilliance of the women navigating a catastrophe.<\/p>\n

\u201cHistorically, farce has centered on a masculine hero,\u201d said Oglesby-Smith. \u201cPlacing their mistakes, ambitions and misadventures at the heart of the comedy, Fillinger boldly subverts that tradition by placing seven women at the center of the chaos. Although the president sets the events of the play into motion, it is the women around him who drive the story, navigating an increasingly absurd crisis with intelligence, resilience and humor.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Royal Underground has chosen a perfect time for a political farce\/satire. As our next election grows near, the headlines often make it seem that we are living in our own theatrical farce which is, unfortunately, all too real.<\/p>\n

Portraying the seven women are Asoula \u201cJasmine\u201d Avegalio as the first lady, Michele Rabkin as the chief of staff with Karla Acosta Ormond as the press secretary and Jules Weiss as the secretary. Raven Douglas is the journalist covering the White House with Hannah Martinez-Crow as the president\u2019s mistress and Nicole Naffaa as the president\u2019s sister.<\/p>\n

For tickets, go to theroyalunderground.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Lafayette: It\u2019s time for a little heart-to-heart, some gossip, lots of comradery and plenty of laughs as the women of a small southern town gather to get their hair done. This, of course, is the setting for Robert Harling\u2019s \u201cSteel Magnolias.\u201d Such a fitting title for six women with backbones of steel as they share triumphs and support one another when tragedy strikes.<\/p>\n

Town Hall Theatre on 3535 School St. presents the popular show Sept. 12 through Oct. 3. Live music plays in the lobby an hour before each performance.<\/p>\n

Richard Perez directs a cast consisting of Lexy Grant, Melody Payne, Aero England, Allison Gamlen, Kristine Ann Lowry and Marsha van Broek.<\/p>\n

For tickets, call 925-283-1557 or go to townhalltheatre.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"NancyNancy Carlin and Cody Sloan in rehearsal for Tennessee Williams\u2019 “The Glass Menagerie” at Walnut Creek’s Center Rep, running Sept. 6-27. (Photo courtesy of Randy Taradash)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Walnut Creek: Center Rep begins its 2026-27 season with Tennessee Williams lyrical drama \u201cThe Glass Menagerie\u201d from Sunday through Sept. 27.<\/p>\n

The haunting memory play is told by Tom, who deserted his mother and sister in a 1930s St. Louis slum. Filled with guilt, he returns to that pivotal time to try and find out what led him to abandon his family.<\/p>\n

Directed by Center Rep Artistic Director Matt M. Morrow, this all-new production examines the cost of personal freedom, the depth of sibling bonds and the consequences of seeking the truth.<\/p>\n

Performances take place at Walnut Creek\u2019s Lesher Center on 1601 Civic Drive. For tickets, go to centerrep.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Pittsburg: Remember the slightly formal, often glittery outfits we used to wear to the annual Shellie Award at Walnut Creek\u2019s Lesher Center? The ones that are probably gathering dust in the back of a closet somewhere? Well, it\u2019s time to pull them out, shake out the wrinkles and put them on again.<\/p>\n

Thanks to theaters in the Eastern Contra Costa Co-Op, the inaugural Black Diamond Awards take place Jan. 9 at the California Theater on 351 Railroad Ave. in Pittsburg.<\/p>\n

Patterned after Broadway\u2019s Tony Awards and the locally beloved Shellie Awards, the program honors individuals in musical and non-musical productions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe loved the Shellie Award but that went away when Scott Denison retired,\u201d said organizer Dianne Schepers. \u201cWe took the basis of the Shellie Awards and added some categories such as sound, crew and cameo roles. All the theaters involved are of similar size and budget, so we have a level playing field.\u201d<\/p>\n

The January awards will look at the 2025-26 season with the following companies represented: B8, Clayton Theatre Company, Contra Costa Civic Theatre, Ghostlight Theatre Ensemble, Masquers Playhouse, Onstage Repertory Theatre, Orinda Starlight Village Players, Pinole Community Players, Pittsburg Theatre Company and Town Hall Theatre.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re open to other companies coming in the future, but the caveat is they have to promote each other\u2019s shows and provide resources if requested,\u201d Schepers said.<\/p>\n

In fact, the Co-Op has been coordinating and sharing both physical and personnel resources since its inception in 2019 including a production calendar and publicizing other members\u2019 upcoming productions in show programs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe theater community is small and by sharing our resources we become stronger,\u201d Schepers said.<\/p>\n

More information on the Black Diamond Awards coming soon.<\/p>\n

Reach Sally Hogarty at sallyhogarty@gmail.com<\/a>, and read more of her reviews online at eastbaytimes.com\/author\/sally-hogarty<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There\u2019s an old saying: \u201cBehind every successful man, there is a good woman.\u201d But in the case of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":448998,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[2245,177709,177710,177713,133942,2248,2241,1472,2246,2242,177712,967,116199,2240,143,145,144,2244,2239,1154,2547,2247,177707,177711,2243,177708,1058,40185],"class_list":["post-448997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oakland","tag-acting","tag-anna-oglesby-smith","tag-artistic-director-matt-m-morrow","tag-black-diamond-awards","tag-center-rep","tag-choreography","tag-comedy","tag-dance","tag-directing","tag-drama","tag-eastern-contra-costa-co-op","tag-entertainment","tag-live-oak-theater","tag-musicals","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-news","tag-on-stage","tag-performing-arts","tag-potus","tag-richard-perez","tag-screenwriting","tag-selina-fillinger","tag-shellie-award","tag-singing","tag-the-royal-underground-theatre-company","tag-theater","tag-town-hall-theatre"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448997","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=448997"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448997\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/448998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=448997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=448997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=448997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}