Capitol Steps Returns for Annual Evening of Political Satire at Bankhead Theater

Information submitted by Livermore Valley Performing Arts Center:

Returning for their seventh annual evening of side-splitting satire, the Capitol Steps brings a refreshing, if razor-sharp, perspective on politics to the Bankhead Theater on May 1, 2015. The only group in America that attempts to be funnier than Congress, the Capitol Steps never suffer from a shortage of material.

At times, members have been known to update the show on-the-fly, learning new lines and revising skits backstage just before the curtain opens in order to incorporate the latest headlines, scandals, mis-steps and mis-speaks in the constantly shifting political landscape. Their equal opportunity approach mocks both sides of the issues in a unique blend of music and comedy that may be the only thing that consistently earn bipartisan support on Capitol Hill.

The group was formed in 1981 when a few congressional staffers were asked to come up with entertainment for a holiday party. Ronald Reagan was President at the time, so co-founders Elaina Newport, Bill Strauss and Jim Aidala figured that if entertainers could become politicians, then politicians could become entertainers. They took a comic approach, skewering both political parties and the very places and people that employed them. They were such a success that by 1988 they were no longer working on Capitol Hill, but laughing at it full-time instead.

Although not all of the current members of the Steps are former Capitol Hill staffers, taken together the performers have worked in a total of eighteen Congressional offices, representing members on both sides of the fence. With a range of political experience, musical, acting, improv and pure comedic talent, the Capitol Steps are notoriously gifted at finding the humor in the way our political system works ... and the many ways it doesn’t. While serious issues are treated with respect, the Capitol Steps look for angles that appeal to a universal sense of the ridiculous and, as Newport says, they are happy to take any approach that allows them to laugh at themselves.

After more than 30 years and as many albums, The Capitol Steps are a Washington DC institution. They have performed in all 50 states, appeared before five US presidents in both Democratic and Republican administrations, and been widely featured on television and National Public Radio. Their most recent album, “Mock the Vote” features such irresistibly funny hits as “Stuck in the Middle East, Too”, “Jeb is Ready, He’s My Brother,” and “All About the Base.”

To the delight of local fans, the Capitol Steps has been bringing side-splitting humor to Livermore virtually every year since the Bankhead Theater opened in 2007 and has become a highlight of each LVPAC Presents season. Tickets for the single evening with the Capitol Steps on Friday, May 1st at 8:00 p.m. are $52 or $69 for adults and $16 for students.