IF YOU GOWhat: Capitol Steps performance.When: 7:30 p.m. Monday.Where: Athens City Middle School, 200 Keith Lane, Athens, Tenn.Admission: $26 all ages.Phone: 423-745-8781.Website: www.capsteps.com.SAVE THE DATEFour more dates remain in the Big Time, Small Town Performance Season. All remaining shows cost $21 for adults, $11 for students. Season tickets are $150 per family, $100 per couple, $60 per individual.* Oct. 11: Spencer's Theatre of Illusion* Dec. 13: San Jose Taiko* Feb. 6: "Ain't Misbehavin': The Fats Waller Musical Show"* March 6: "The Long & Winding Road," starring Jim Witter
Barack Obama is coming to town. And so is Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, John Boehner, Rick Perry and George W. Bush.
Not really. But perhaps just as amusing, political satirists Capitol Steps will appear at Athens Middle School on Monday as the first installment in a five-show Big Time, Small Town Performance Season presented by the Athens Area Council for the Arts.
"Athens is probably about the most remote place we've ever been to, but if folks are willing to have us, we love going anywhere," said group member Mark Eaton.
Known for irreverent political humor, Capitol Steps was born in 1981 when a group of Senate staffers performed at a Christmas party, just to get some laughs.
"It's hard to be funnier than what's actually happening in real life here," said longtime member Eaton. "Let's face it, we never have an end of material. Every time we start to run short, an election's right around the corner, so we've got it made."
The group is composed of people from both sides of the political fence, and everyone is fair game.
"We try very hard to be equal-opportunity offenders," he said.
Knowing the game, however, he said members of the group don't get offended, though there are some disagreements or defensiveness.
But they're all open to other perspectives.
"Our group is pretty much like America. We're about half and half when it comes to political leanings, with some firmly straddling the line. We're a cross-section of America."
The 90-minute show usually includes about 35 song parodies and skits, all focusing on political issues and figures.
"If you don't laugh at some of these issues, they will absolutely drive you crazy," he said. "Politics is kind of universally mocked and reviled to some degree." Eaton pointed to the popularity of programs like "The Daily Show" to demonstrate the value of looking at politics through a humorous lens. Eaton emphasized, however, his desire that people not depend on satire as their only source of information.
"If you consider it the gospel when you're watching a comedy show and you think that's what the news is, that's a little troubling. It's like using Wikipedia as a real reference."
And while group members will play different political figures, perhaps not in the most reverent of lights, there will not, he assured, be a Jell-O wrestling match between Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann.
"We find that these are very mature women who will handle things in a very dignified manner when it comes to their differences. So they're probably going to have a swimsuit competition instead."