Poking fun at politics
March 23, 2004
KALAMAZOO--The Capitol Steps--the only group in America that attempts to be funnier than Congress--stops at Miller Auditorium on the campus of Western Michigan University for a single performance at 8 p.m. Saturday, March 27.
The Capitol Steps are a troupe of Congressional staffers-turned-comedians who travel the country satirizing the very people and places that once employed them. Since they began, the Capitol Steps have recorded 23 albums, including their latest, "Between Iraq and a Hard Place." They've been featured on NBC, CBS, ABC and PBS and can be heard four times a year on National Public Radio stations nationwide during their "Politics Takes a Holiday" radio specials.
The Capitol Steps were born in December 1981, when three staffers for Senator Charles Percy were planning entertainment for a Christmas party. Their first idea was to stage a nativity play, but in the whole Congress, they couldn't find three wise men or a virgin! So, they decided to dig into the headlines of the day and created song parodies and skits which conveyed a special brand of satirical humor that was as popular in Peoria as it was on Pennsylvania Avenue.
The group's material is updated constantly, whether to include George W. Bush's latest malapropism in "Don't Go Fakin' You're Smart" (to Elton John's "Don't Go Breaking my Heart") or their own Little Orphan Army in "Osama Come Out, Tomorrow." Whether its politicians or Mike Tyson ("Pardon Me Boys, Is this the Chap Who Tried to Chew You?"), the Capitol Steps are equal opportunity offenders.
Tickets range from $20 to 32. For tickets, call the Miller Auditorium Ticket Office at (269) 387-2300 or toll free (800) 228-9858, or visit <www.millerauditorium.com>. Tickets also may be purchased through the Epic Center Box Office in downtown Kalamazoo.
The Miller Auditorium performance of the Capitol Steps is sponsored by WFAT 96.5 FM and Coca Cola.
Media contact: Tracey Lawie, 269 387-2309, tracey.lawie@wmich.edu