‘Equal opportunity offenders’: Capitol Fools will take political pokes at all sides in Anchorage show

Capitol Fools writer Mark Eaton likes to preach patience to audiences for the political satire show.

“We are equal opportunity offenders,” he said. “If you don’t like us hitting your party or candidate, just be patient because we are going after the other side next.”

The Capitol Fools will perform in Anchorage at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Atwood Concert Hall as part of the Anchorage Concert Association’s 2024-25 season. Tickets range from $36 to $70.25.

“It will be a fun and laugh-filled night! Our fast-paced show consists of around 25 different song parodies and skits,” Eaton promises the local audience.

The show doesn’t wait long to start dishing out the digs, starting with: “In the event of an emergency, please stay seated until Congress agrees on an evacuation route.”

The show includes a Kamala Harris-Tim Walz duet and the voicing of Donald Trump’s grievances about Joe Biden leaving the presidential race. The troupe also tackles other current events like the astronauts who were stranded at the International Space Station.

Eaton is in charge of keeping the show relevant. This year he needed to produce new material when President Biden dropped out of the race and Harris became the Democratic nominee.

“Fortunately for us, the public was still willing and wanting to see our politicians mocked, and to see the issues of the day get skewered,” he said.

The Capitol Steps performed in Anchorage four times in the past and developed from a previous Washington, D.C.-based satire show.

“The Capitol Fools are the stepchildren of The Capitol Steps,” Eaton explained. The original company first performed in December 1981. They chose their name after allegations about former Congressman John Jenrette having sex with his wife on the steps of the Capitol.

The original creator of and writer for the Steps was Elena Newport, then a staffer for an Illinois senator. In the first 15 years, most of the company performers were former staffers from D.C. After 40 years of shows, the Steps did not survive COVID.

When they folded, Michael Pauken, then the executive director of the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, Illinois, reached out to Jack Rowles about putting a show together for Skokie involving some of the veteran performers from the Steps.

The resulting show in spring 2022 went well, and Capitol Fools was formed. Today, Pauken is co-producer of the company. Rowles will be onstage for the Anchorage performance and is also the director.

Rowles had been part of Steps for 20 out of their 40 years and carries on the legacy in the Fools. He believes that the shows provide a well-needed emotional release in stressful times.

He also said that there is no need to be politically savvy to understand the show. Rowles said that the greatest enemy of the show is a competent government.