Comedy troupe brings humor to serious times
What do the three little pigs and Martha Stewart have in common? If you can’t come up with a punchline, maybe Capitol Steps could help.
Utah State University students heard songs and stories about the Three Little Pigs, Alan Greenspan, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Enron and Martha Stewart Wednesday night as the comedy troupe Capitol Steps performed in the Kent Concert Hall.
The troupe first performed in 1981 at a Senate office meeting and has since performed for five presidents, six if you count Hillary, said Julie Dethrow, the Associated Students of Utah State University Arts and Lectures vice president.
There are 23 comedians and five pianists in the troupe. Five actors and one pianist perform at any given show.
“We have enough for four or five casts,” said Jack Rowles, a member of the troupe. “They mix us up. We here tonight will be together for four days this week, and then I’ll be with totally new people next week.”
Each troupe member currently or formerly works in politics, and the comedians “monitor events and personalities on Capitol Hill, in the Oval Office and in other centers of power and prestige around the world and then take a humorous look at serious issues,” according to www.capsteps.com.
Mike Loomis, one of the comedians, worked on the staff of Sen. Gary Hart of Colorado before joining Capitol Steps 15 years ago.
During one sketch in the show, Loomis played Saddam Hussein in a parody of the Oct. 15 election in Iraq where Hussein received 100 percent of the votes.
“What can I say, my people love me … or else,” Loomis said in character.
Another story Loomis told was that of the three little pigs, a story that poked fun at the terrorism warnings the government has given since Sept. 11, 2001.
“We have reports that we can neither confirm nor deny that terrorists may or may not be targeting straw houses at some time in the future,” Loomis said. “The three little pigs lived in fear and eventually developed eating disorders. But after they turned off CNN, they lived happily ever after.”
Jamie Zemarel played George W. Bush during the show and parodied the president mixing up words.
“I’m going to make certain we educationize our youth, in other words, euthanize,” he said.
Zemarel joined the troupe eight years ago and said he enjoys traveling with the troupe, and his favorite role to play is Private Detective Hugh Jim Bissell investigating power blackouts in California.
“I come from the theater background and did some volunteer work on Capitol Hill,” he said. “The detective is my favorite thing to do. I just like the way it’s written. I can play with the audience with it.”
The pianist at Wednesday’s performance, Howard Breitbart, said his favorite part of his job is being entertained by his co-workers.
“How many people get to laugh at their co-workers on purpose?” he asked. “It’s great.”
The troupe has released 22 albums since 1984, the most recent of which is When Bush Comes to Shove.
Its songs include “Don’t go Faking You’re Smart” about President Bush (to Elton John and Kiki Dee’s “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart”), “401K” (to the tune of “YMCA”), “Alan Greenspan” (to the tune of “Mr. Sandman”) and “Speaker of the House” (to Les Miserables’ “Master of the House”).
According to the Web site, Capitol Steps is “the only group in America that attempts to be funnier than the Congress.” For more information about the troupe, visit its Web site.
-kcartwright@cc.usu.edu