When it comes to an election year, political pundits have it easy. Candidates have so much face time with the public they are sure to provide an abundance of gaffes for comedy troupes like Capitol Steps. During break, a sold-out crowd at the Newman Center hooted and applauded as cast members jibed at pharmaceutical companies, foreign governments, and, of course, George W. Bush.
Capitol Steps does not lean in any particular political direction, lobbing jabs at Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Dick Cheney and Rush Limbaugh alike. Politicians taking the brunt of good-humored ire were those whose debacles made them especially easy targets. Case in point: the performance featured Sen. Larry Craig’s doppelganger walking on stage carrying a three-sided bathroom stall. The crowd erupted in roars of laughter.
Political satire has been around for as long as there have been politicians. Troupes like Capitol Steps deftly reflect the frustrations of the governed. Capitol Steps began in 1981 when founding members Bill Strauss and Elaina Newport were congressional staffers. Eventually the group became so popular that show receipts grew large enough to pay salaries and take the comedy act on the road.
For the past 25 years the group has lampooned presidents and administrations. Strauss, who died this past December, was one of the brainchildren behind the spoof on words called “Lirty Dies.” The 10-minute monologue dishes out one funny spoonerism after another, a routine that keeps the audience thinking and laughing at the same time.
While you can catch some of the group’s humor on YouTube or the Capitol Steps Web site, the comedy is best experienced in person. Otherwise you miss a bumbling Bush, who can’t figure out how to raise a lowered microphone, bending down to talk before dropping to the floor where the microphone has landed. While it might be a bit campy, it also seems to reinforce what we have come to expect from a president who doesn’t always seems to be on top of what’s going on.
One of the memorable spoofs focuses on Russia’s instigated poisoning of Putin critic Alexander Litvinenko that makes you stop and think about the power governments and their secret services command. Capitol Steps even managed a brief reference to the Eliot Spitzer scandal that erupted a few days before their performance at DU. Needless to say, as long as there are politicians, there will be no shortage of material for groups like Capitol Steps’ follies, which is something we can all appreciate.
