Political satire takes on Jorgensen

"In the event of an emergency, please remain seated and wait for a government bailout."

So began political satirists the Capitol Steps' performance Friday evening at the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts. The gag was met with surprised laughter and applause from the sizable crowd, comprised largely of older adults, and the mood was set for a night of irreverence toward all things Washington.

In a series of skits, monologues and song parodies, the comedy troupe stuck mostly to lampooning politicians and scandals.

Popular routines included a Shakespearean soliloquy from a disillusioned Hillary Clinton, a reinvented "Who's on First?" between George W. Bush and a pair of unfortunately named Chinese diplomats, and Al Gore leading the audience in a mercilessly convoluted sing-along explaining global warming.

"This is a global problem, people," he chidingly told the crowd.

The impressions were uncanny at best and recognizable at worst, but most were spot-on. Bush was invariably dumb, Cheney sinister, Obama a bright-eyed media darling and Hillary, a poor sport forcing a smile. The material was certainly witty and the actors' delivery was sharp, but the jokes sometimes felt stale with contrivances, inspired and smart as they typically were.

The audience was nevertheless energetic and receptive throughout, and the performers always recovered with gusto from any tanking bits. When President Bush entered to "Hail to the Chief" and painful silence from the crowd, he only looked out at them and smiled warmly. "Thank you for the kind applause," he said in his signature drawl. The line brought the house down.

Some students found the humor too clean, but did not consider it detrimental to the show.

"It was fun, but nothing college students haven't seen before," said Andrea Kahn, a 5th-semester English major. "But, they were entertaining, and that's better than just being edgy."

Some audience members thought the right wing took most of the jabs.

"Nothing they said there the mass population of UConn or Connecticut would disagree with," said 5th-semester electrical engineering major Dan Emmons.

"I haven't seen them before, so I wouldn't dismiss the possibility that they do different types of shows in different parts of the country."