satire singing group makes annual visit

To say that the Capitol Steps write good political satire is like saying Shakespeare wrote some pretty nice plays. They’re simply the best. Formed in 1981, when three Senate staffers came up with some songs and skits for a holiday office party, the Steps have gone on to record thirty albums, have appeared frequently on TV and National Public Radio, and have performed at the White House for every president since Reagan. They have also come to Ann Arbor every Fourth of July since 1991. “They’ve become a part of the culture of the holiday in this town,” says Robb Woulfe, Executive Director of the Ann Arbor Summer Festival. “Ann Arbor audiences are ideal for the Steps. They’re smart, they’re quick, they get it.”

I first heard the Steps about fifteen years ago in a small club in Washington D.C. Seeing the Steps in our nation’s capital is like watching the Bard at the Globe in London. The audience, filled with Beltway insiders, some of whom may themselves have been the subjects of the fiendishly clever musical parodies, roared at the Steps verbal pyrotechnics and poetic pratfalls. 

Political satire is easy. There’s never a shortage of characters and antics to lampoon, lambaste, skewer and roast. But, great political satire is not so simple. Bill Strauss and Elaina Newport, who write all the lyrics to the Steps’ songs, match masterfully crafted comic verse with the melodies of perfectly chosen familiar songs. With just piano accompaniment, a few simple props and costume changes, the talented performers create an uproariously entertaining show.

The songs on “Liberal Shop of Horrors,” their most recent release are, like all Steps material, about events and personalities recently in the news. “Strangers On Your Flight,” which hits (well, almost hit) close to home for us Ann Arborites, features the following introduction, “Your government is very good at anticipating these events after they occur.” In “Right Wing Striking Again,” Hillary and Bill Clinton use their painfully won expertise to advise President Obama on how to deal with the Right. “The Ballad of the Queen Berets,” and “Hotel Arizona,” (you don’t need help figuring out what song they’re parodying, or what topic/politician they’re spoofing, right?) are also likely to be a part of their upcoming Treetown show.

The Steps always include a few oldies but goodies. A couple of likely suspects this year are, “How Do You Solve a Problem Like Korea?” and “Buy American Pie.” (Funny how some of these issues don’t go away.)
And then there’s Lirty Dies, the Steps trademark monologue, in which they “whip flurds,” (flip words) to create hilarious spoonerisms such as “Imbos in the Boffice,” “Falicornia,” and “The Moo Nillennium.” They’re debuting a brand new Lirty Dies this year.

These prolific and consistently high quality parodies and monologues are all the more remarkable considering how fast they are written and rehearsed. Sometimes Steps songs are about news events less than a week old.