15 July 2008
U.S. Elections Good Business for Washington Theater Group
Congressional staff members turn musical act into national touring show
Washington -- Political activists are not the only ones who get especially busy during election season. For a group of entertainers known as the Capitol Steps, 2008 is a demanding year.
“More people are interested in and focused on politics so we get more shows in an election year,” said Elaina Newport, co-founder of the Capitol Steps, a theater troupe known for its musical acts about politicians. The Capitol Steps expects to perform about 700 shows during 2008.
In December 1981, Newport and other members of Senator Charles Percy’s staff were planning entertainment for a Christmas party. They took the tunes of well-known songs and paired them with their own lyrics poking fun at the political events of the day. The show was a hit and the Capitol Steps was born.
Today, the Capitol Steps has about 25 members who perform in groups of five at a theater in Washington or in touring productions across the country. Although the size of the cast and the audience has expanded since its first performance, the Capitol Steps continues its tradition of writing and performing songs about politics and news of the day. The group has produced 28 albums, including their latest one titled Campaign and Suffering.
Newport told America.gov that the average show includes about 30 songs, meaning an actor who plays former Russian President Vladimir Putin in one skit might have to make a quick costume change to return to the stage as former U.S. presidential candidate Mike Huckabee.
The Capitol Steps typically produces one new song a week -- one of its newest recounts Starbucks’ decision to close 600 coffee shops. As new songs are added to the production, older songs are removed. This gives the performers the ability to “keep the show fresh on a continuing basis,” Newport said.
“We’re not like normal people,” Newport said. “If an event happens we don’t think ‘Is this good or bad for the country?’ We think ‘Is it funny and what rhymes with it?’”
TARGETED, TOPICAL HUMOR
Cast members learn new songs quickly. “I might write up a song on Wednesday and e-mail it to someone” for use in the weekend’s performance, Newport said. The performers have little time for rehearsal.
It helps that many of the performers understand the topics they poke fun of quite well -- about half have worked in congressional offices or for other political organizations. “We’re laughing at ourselves a little bit, we worked in the system and we still think it’s funny,” Newport said.
Many of the politicians the Capitol Steps targets have seen and complimented its work. Famous audience members include five U.S. presidents, among them President Ronald Reagan, who invited the Capitol Steps to the White House to sing songs about him.
“That was one of the surprises over the years, that politicians who we make fun of tend to like it,” Newport said. “They want to see what you have about them.”
Newport said she believes presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama have not seen the Capitol Steps perform. If they came to a performance, they likely would see themselves portrayed on stage.
“Everybody’s interested in seeing what we have about McCain and Obama,” Newport said. Recent songs have made fun of McCain’s age and parodied the recent attempts by Democrats Hillary Clinton and Obama to unify their party.
Newport is unsure which candidate, if elected, would be better for the group’s business.
“You don’t really know who will be funny,” Newport said. She said that when President Bill Clinton ran for re-election against Bob Dole in 1996, she thought Dole would be a funnier president to parody.
But then came the Monica Lewinsky scandal, one of the most joked-about political stories in American history.
“I had no idea what was to come. You just don’t know what to wish for.”
