With the New Hampshire primaries a little over two weeks away -- and as if the American political system isn't enough of a joke already -- the Capitol Steps, critically acclaimed as the nation's premiere musical political satirists, will appear in Spaulding Auditorium of the Hopkins Center for the Performing Arts tonight at 8 p.m.
Composed of 17 former congressional staffers from all across the political spectrum, the Capitol Steps make political satire an art form. Topics of their barbs range from politicians and their families to celebrities, current events, and the media.
Even the most casual political observer is sure to be entertained by the group's sarcastic, witty parodies of the nation's most prominent celebrities and political figures.
Director of the Rockefeller Center for the Social Sciences Linda Fowler said in a Hopkins Center news release, "Irreverence toward government officials in the United States is as old as the republic and never more bracing than in the midst of an election -- the nation's 'silly season.' "
As long as government is inefficient and partisan, the Capitol Steps should have no problem finding material to parody.
The group's producer, Elena Newport, said in the news release that the Capitol Steps' worst fear "is a government that's effective and solves all our problems."
Most of the group's material comes in the forms of song parodies, although the group has been known to borrow from literature as well -- thus the Dr. Seuss classic "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" became "How the Ging-grinch Stole Congress."
The group, originally formed in 1981, has released 15 albums containing their best parodies and skits. Their most recent effort, "A Whole Newt World" was recorded in the months after Republicans gained majorities in both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives in November 1994.
Not surprisingly, a majority of the material is devoted to Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and the Republican congressional majorities.
The title track, "A Whole Newt World," a parody of the love song, "A Whole New World" from the animated movie "Aladdin," features a Gingrich impersonator singing, "I can show you my world, whining bickering gridlock." Ginrgrich also brags of his "indescribable power, unsurpassable ego."
In "How the Ging-grinch Stole Congress," the storyteller says of Gingrich, "'Just look at those orphans,' he said with a smirk. 'Why some of those two year olds don't even work.'"
Despite the focus on the Republicans, President Bill Clinton certainly does not get off easy.
Clinton is parodied in "The Fondler," a track about women's accusations that Clinton engaged in philandering activity as the governor of Arkansas.
And in "Don't Stop Talkin' Until Tomorrow," Clinton's record-long 81 minute 1995 State of the Union address is satirized.
While the Capitol Steps focus much of their parodies on the president and Congress, some material is also devoted to nationally prominent state governors and city mayors.
For example, "Arrivederci Cuomo," is a dirge to defeated three-term former New York Governor Mario Cuomo, swept out of office in the Republican revolution of 1994.
And one Capitol Steps skit likens Washington D.C. Mayor Marion Barry to a social disease: "First of all it's embarrassing, second of all it's reoccurring ... and it responds well to drugs."
A few years ago, Barry left office in disgrace, served jail time for cocaine possession, among other things, and was subsequently re-elected to the mayorship after his release from prison.
Showing they also have an eye for current events, the Capitol Steps also devote some of their most recent album to parodying the O.J. Simpson double-murder trial, with tracks such as "Kato-Tonic" and "Let Me Go, F. Lee Bailey," in which a fictional Los Angeles Police Detective Mark Fuhrman begs attorney Bailey to let him go after hours of badgering on the witness stand.
The Capitol Steps perform more than 300 shows each year across the country. They have been featured on many nationally broadcast television news and variety shows, as well as on three National Public Television specials.
The group has earned praise not only from political pundits, but from some of the targets of their barbs as well.
Vice President Al Gore is quoted on the group's latest CD as saying, "Some people in Washington are confused, but the Capitol Steps are not."
The Capitol Steps' sold-out show this evening is co-sponsored by the Hopkins Center and the Rockefeller Center.
