Elaina Newport: “We’ve been to Madison the largest number of times as any comedy troupe ever. A million times. You’re a great, greatest city of all time.”
The Capitol Steps have been going strong since 1981, when a group of Washington, D.C., policy wonks came together to stage a Christmas show for their Congressional colleagues. They couldn’t find three wise men or a virgin, so instead they decided to poke fun at the absurdity of life in the nation’s capital.
Over these 37 years, the Steps have sharpened their satirical parodies and skits, using the latest headlines to ignite their comedy and spread their humor beyond the D.C. Beltway.
In advance of an upcoming July 7 show at the Overture Center’s Capitol Theater, Isthmus was curious what it is like to create satire when, under Trump, things are already so unreal.
We caught up with founding member Elaina Newport in her Alexandria office, where she was contemplating Trump pardoning himself.
Madison is a frequent stop. Is there collusion?
We love coming to Madison. You guys are so into politics and aware, and you get us. As Trump would say, we’ve been to Madison the largest number of times as any comedy troupe ever. Like a million times. A million times. You’re a great, greatest city of all time. And this witch hunt needs to end.
Everything Trump and his cronies say and do these days seems like a joke. What’s it like to create comedy when it’s all so surreal?
Comedy is based on exaggeration. How do you exaggerate this guy? That’s a challenge. During the campaign I wrote a joke about Trump not wanting to kiss babies, with him saying “Babies are losers — go get a job!” A week later, he actually kicked a baby out of a rally because the baby was crying! You can essentially repeat things Trump actually said and get a laugh. But it’s a blessing and a curse. He says something outrageous every day, and it’s hard to stay ahead of him. You can do a Sean Hannity joke and then have to switch gears because Rudy Giuliani just said something wacky. I have been known to text a new joke to a performer waiting backstage.
Besides Trump, who else do you spoof in the show?
We have Donny Junior, Pence. The party in power is always the most funny, but we also have Nancy Pelosi and Bernie. Of course, Stormy Daniels, Kim Jong-un. And Vladimir Putin dances shirtless.
What can we expect at your Madison show?
All of the above. Ninety minutes of fast-paced skits, songs, and wigs flying off and on.
Describe your creative process.
I do about half the writing along with Mark Eaton on our staff, and our cast does the other half. There’s not a smoke-filled room. It’s mostly unglamorous, sitting in front of a screen. There’s challenges, like trying to find a rhyme for [Anthony] Scaramucci. Sometimes, [it’s] just mentioning a name, like Anthony Weiner, and a joke can write itself.
Do the folks you lampoon ever attend your shows or offer feedback?
When we started in the ’80s, we did our shows for several presidents in those first 20-some years. They were very good sports, coming to see us and having a great time. George Bush Sr. got up on stage with us a couple times. Once, [former] New York Sen. Alfonse D’Amato came up to us after a show and was mad we didn’t have a joke about him!