THE CAPITOL STEPS, Premiere Political Musical Satire Troupe, Brings New Show To Spreckels Theatre

The Capitol Steps (http://www.capsteps.com), America's premiere political-musical-satire troupe, will appear at Spreckels Theatre in San Diego for just one show on Thursday, January 11, 2018 at 7:00 pm. The troupe will offer its newest show, "Orange is the New Barack," a brand-new vaudeville-like comedy show with a mix of song and standup that lampoons our modern political leaders, taking on the major issues of the day and sharing songs from the group's newest album.

This is the group that puts the MOCK in Democracy! Although it was originally made up of congressional staffers, the past decade has seen The Capitol Steps harvest the talents of finely tuned musical theater professionals from around the country. Among other accolades, the show has been nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics.

The 90-minute show "Orange is the New Barack" will provide such treats as:• "Scaramucci the Moocher" (to the tune of "Minnie the Moocher")• "Small Hands" (sung by Melania, to the Pointer Sisters' "Slow Hand") • "Tweet Tweet" (to the tune of "Rockin' Robin," inspired by the President's tweetstorms)• "Don't Know Much About History" (with Betsy DeVos crooning "Don't know much about history... Don't know much biology")• "Putin on the Blitz," based on "Puttin' on the Ritz," in which Vladimir explains his philosophy on asserting power ("...Russian force I must assert - Don't make me take off my shirt - You'll say 'tsk tsk' - Putin is a risk...") ...and more!
Taking a lesson from the Trump family-never miss a chance to slip in an endorsement for your business-this concert is named after troupe's newest album, "Orange is the New Barack."

Capitol Steps shows, being headline-driven, are unpredictable, so the complete song list and cast list can't be forecast in advance. The troupe pounces on breaking news events in order to keep the show fresh. In the overheated news cycle surrounding our 45th president, this has been particularly challenging. Elaina Newport, a founding member of the group and one of its lead writers, says she's even texted updates to performers waiting backstage to go on. Mike Thornton, who plays Trump, asserts, "It's almost impossible to stay ahead of the buffoonery."

Political satire is good for you! A recent study found that post-election stress has been peaking among adults in blue states, and this is suppressing language growth and cognitive development in families with young children. So citizens are urged to laugh off their political angst and stretch the smile muscles, once again.

Originally, a group of Senate staffers were planning a show for a Christmas party in 1981. 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. They adopted their name from a 1981 political scandal in which Representative John Jenrette allegedly had relations with his wife on the steps of the U.S. Capitol building.

Today, a formidable group of comedian-singers carry on the tradition that was begun 35 years ago. Traditionally, no matter who or what is in the headlines, The Capitol Steps tackles both sides of the political spectrum and all things equally foolish. They've unleashed 32 albums to date, including 2017's "Orange Is The New Barack."

The Capitol Steps has been featured on NBC, ABC, and CBS, tackling the foibles of elected officials through skit and song, transmuting scandals and shortcomings into pure laughter. Every year, the troupe also appears on multiple NPR stations nationwide during their "Politics Takes a Holiday" specials.

Although The Capitol Steps are based in Washington, DC, most of their shows are out of town, at 1,000-1,500 seat theatres from Seattle to Boston and every city in between. They have also performed for the last five Presidents-but not yet for President Trump.

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