Monday night NU Votes brought the Washington D.C.-based musical comedy troupe The Capitol Steps to campus.
The group of performers sang satirical songs about politics and current events and set them to the tunes of well-known pop songs.
According to the show’s program, the group was formed in 1981. An announcer at the start of the show explained that the performers originally intended to put on a nativity play for Christmas but were unable to find “three wise men or a virgin” in all of Washington D.C.
The Steps opened, after a brief performance by Northeastern’s improv comedy troupe, NU and Improv’d, with a song about the current Wall Street financial woes set to the tune of “YMCA” by the Village People.
“You need some help with your 401k, you’ll have to live at the YMCA,” they sang.
Students said they enjoyed the songs and were impressed with how timely each tune was.
“They came up with a huge amount of material in … very little time,” said Samantha Solomon, president of NU and Improv’d. “They were singing about events that happened this week.”
Based on audience cheers, one of the most popular songs seemed to be a song starring a member of the troupe dressed as Al Gore, singing about global warming to the tune of “There’s a Hole in the Bottom of the Sea.” The Gore impersonator wore a mop-like wig and spoke with a lisp, drawing raucous laughter.
“There’s a hole, there’s a hole, there’s a hole in the center of the ozone,” he sang. The song ended with rising ocean currents covering Florida with water, leaving Gore to rethink his views on global warming.
Other songs included “A Leader Named Barack,” set to the tune of The Shangri-Las’ “The Leader of the Pack” and a song about Oprah telling women how to vote, to the tune of the theme from “Oklahoma.”
Janet Gordon, a 15-year veteran of the Capitol Steps, said she has been playing Hillary Clinton for 14 years, since Clinton was still first lady.
“She just sort of kept progressing to the next level,” Gordon said. “I’ve followed her through many hairstyles.”
Junior communication studies major Brian FitzGerald said he had been a fan of the Capitol Steps since the Clinton administration and, upon seeing fliers on campus Monday, decided to see the Steps perform that night.
“I really enjoyed seeing it,” he said. “I saw the flier today and called my friend and dragged her here with me.”
Junior political science major Katie Stock said her favorite part of the show was a Shakespeare-inspired skit called “Shamlet,” starring Hillary and Bill Clinton.
“I’m a political science major, so this is right up my alley,” she said.
