The Capitol Steps began almost 40 years ago as a Christmas party stunt by U.S. Senate staffers in Washington, D.C. The apocryphal story: their first idea was to stage a nativity play, but in the whole of Congress, they couldn’t find three wise men or a virgin.
If that made you groan, you can stop reading here. Or maybe that’s your thing. If so, prepare for a night of jokes musical and otherwise that make you groan and guffaw in equal measure. Hey, when was the last time you found yourself laughing at politics? I’m not laughing watching John Oliver. I’m crying. You?
The troop (some of them actual veterans of politics) tours with a set list of 30 or so familiar songs set to fresh lyrics ripped from the headlines. Word is there’s a new one about Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, which has to make you curious about the rhyming, just to start.
Mark Eaton, who manages as well as writes and performs for the Capitol Steps, says the Trump Era has been exhausting.
“It is the best of times. It is the worst of times. There’s almost a story daily. Then the next day, people have already forgotten about it and moved on to something else,” said Eaton.