University of Florida Performing Arts

PLEASE NOTE: The performance on Sunday, November 2 has been moved from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.  We apologize for any inconvenience this time shift may cause.

Sponsored by The Gainesville Sun and TheSky973FM

To listen to the Capitol Steps perform But We Only Have McCain, click play:

About the Capitol Steps
Twenty-five years ago, the Capitol Steps began as group of Senate staffers who set out to satirize the very people and places that employed them.  In the years that followed, many of the Steps ignored the conventional wisdom (“Don’t quit your day job!”).  Although not all of the current Steps are former Capitol Hill staffers, taken together, the performers have worked in a total of 18 Congressional offices and represent 62 years of collective House and Senate staff experience.

Since they began, the Capitol Steps have recorded 27 albums, including their latest, Springtime for Liberals.  They’ve been featured on NBC, CBS, ABC and PBS, and can be heard four times a year on National Public Radio stations nationwide during their Politics Takes a Holiday radio specials.

The Capitol Steps were born in December 1981 when some staffers for Senator Charles Percy were planning entertainment for a Christmas party.  Ronald Reagan was President when the Steps began, so co-founders Elaina Newport, Bill Strauss and Jim Aidala figured that if entertainers could become politicians, then politicians could become entertainers!  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 that was as popular in Peoria as it was on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Most cast members have worked on Capitol Hill; some for Democrats, some for Republicans, and others for politicians who firmly straddle the fence.  No matter who holds office, there’s never a shortage of material.  Says Elaina Newport, “Typically the Republicans goof up, and the Democrats party.  Then the Democrats goof up and the Republicans party.  That’s why we call it the two-party system.”

Although the Capitol Steps are based in Washington, D.C., most of their shows are out-of-town or for out-of-town audiences, whether it’s the National Welding Supply Association, a university audience, high schoolers, or state legislators.  In fact, the Capitol Steps have performed for the last five Presidents.  The only complaints the Steps seem to get are from politicians and personalities who are not included in the program!

The material is updated constantly and no matter who’s in the headlines, the Capitol Steps are equal opportunity offenders.