Susan Granger’s review of “The Capitol Steps” at the Klein in Bridgeport on Oct. 27, 2012
With less than two weeks before Election Day, this clever musical comedy troupe rocked The Klein Auditorium with laughter, poking fun at all the candidates, including Connecticut contenders Linda McMahon and Chris Murphy. As the show began, members of the audience were warned that anyone whose cellphone rang during the performance would have to moderate the next Presidential debate.
Then President Barack Obama, played by Corey Harris, took the stage, telling the audience that the best way to launch a small business is to start a big business – then wait. Governor Mitt Romney, played by Mike Thornton, countered as a “plain white rapper,” warbling, “I’ve Got Big Bucks and I Cannot Lie.”
For more than 30 years, the five performers and a pianist comprising The Capitol Steps have entertained audiences, poking fun at politicians and their peccadillos. Inaugurated in December, 1981, The Capitol Steps began as three staffers for Senator Charles Percy decided to perform at a Christmas party. As the story goes, they considered putting on a Nativity Play but, in the whole Congress, they couldn’t find three wise men or a virgin, so they satirized the headlines of the day with skits and songs. And the rest, as they say, is show biz history. Although not all the current cast members are former Capitol Hill staffers, taken together, they have worked in a total of 18 Congressional offices and represent 62 years of collective House and Senate staff experience.
One of the most popular segments of every show is backwards talk called “Lirty Dies.” Utilizing spoonerisms, like Pig Latin, it involves flipping letters, transforming our Senatorial candidates into “Minda Lichmahon” and “Miss Curphy,” along with “Tronald Dump” and “Bichele Machman.”
Audiences of all ages seem to respond to the humor – and parents should know that The Capitol Steps do not indulge in profanity in their parodies, although some of the songs, subjects and routines contain suggestive innuendo, like “the elephant in the womb” and “morning-after politics.”
The Capitol Steps performs every Friday & Saturday, year-round, in Washington, D.C. and there’s a road company that tours the country. Catch it whenever and wherever you can….hopefully, back at The Klein very soon.