A D.C. comedy group called Capitol Steps gently mocked politics for decades via satirical songs, covering every political scandal going back to Ronald Reagan’s presidency.
Then the pandemic shut touring down. Following the Jan. 6 insurrection, original member and former Senate staffer Elaina Newport decided it was time to close shop in a world where political humor had become harsher and the partisan divide never felt wider.
But several group members still felt there was a home for their goofy type of humor, so they resurrected the group under the name Capitol Fools.
Over the past two years, the seven-person troupe has performed more than 100 shows.
Capitol Fools make its Atlanta debut at the Rialto Center for the Arts on Saturday. (Capitol Steps had done shows at the Rialto.)
“It’s a rebuilding process,” Capitol Fools cast member Jack Rowle told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Our greatest enemy is competent government — which means we’ll be around a long time.”
Rowle was with the Capitol Steps for 20 years and has played everyone from John Kerry to Bernie Sanders to Steve Bannon. He now is a producer and director for Capitol Fools as well as a performer.
Mining humor in a way that isn’t purely partisan á la “The Daily Show” or “Gutfeld!” in 2024 isn’t easy.
“It is more difficult,” Rowle said. “At the same time, we recently got standing ovations in Virginia and there were definitely people at the show on both sides. We skewer everyone equally. And my buddy Kevin Corbett’s Trump is fantastic.”
Their humor, which is more corny than substantive, features no shortage of puns and wordplay including bits with spoonerisms, in which the first letter of words get reversed, as in “It’s the American lay of wife” instead of “American way of life.”
Capitol Steps began in early 1980s, created by two U.S. Senate staffers. Playing off the rhythms of the D.C. pianist and satirist Mark Russell, who died last year, the group grew into a Washington institution, using familiar pop hits and show tunes to roast multiple presidents and whatever shenanigans were happening inside the Beltway.
The group started touring nationally in the late 1980s after “All Things Considered” began playing their parody songs on NPR. Over the years, they recorded multiple radio specials and 40 albums.
It’s a medium where change is constant. In just the past two months, there’s been a new presidential candidate, a national convention and a presidential debate adding more potential material for the group.
A promo video for Capitol Fools posted on YouTube just a few weeks ago for an upcoming show featured two satirical songs that are out of date. One, playing off the 1971 Melanie hit “Brand New Key,” laments the presidential options of Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Another features a man dressed in a fuel tank outfit complaining about high gas prices, which now are falling.
“This is not like musical theater,” Rowle said. “There is no set script where you know where the laughs are. You’re finding them every day. You’re playing with the audience trying different stuff all the time. It’s invigorating to be part of this live moment.”
Currently, there is a bit featuring Trump and vice presidential candidate JD Vance singing Leslie Gore’s “It’s My Party” with the lyrics “It’s my party/and I’ll lie if I want to/lie if I want to/lie if I want to.”
Come Saturday, there will be references to what happened during the recent presidential debate, Rowle said.
Co-founder Newport, now retired, is OK with the existence of Capitol Fools, Rowle said.
“I’m still close friends with her,” he said. “I’ve also tried to buy the name Capital Steps. No luck on that front.”
IF YOU GO
“Capitol Fools”
8 p.m., Saturday, $39.10-$81, Rialto Center for the Arts, 80 Forsyth St. NW, Atlanta, events.rialtocenter.gsu.edu
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