Capitol Steps perform in Sarasota

Elaina Newport and her co-workers live in the Washington, D.C., area, but they have a special fondness for Florida.

"We like to make it down to Florida as often as we can to thank you guys for all the great material you've given us," Newport said.

Newport is the co-founder of Capitol Steps, the venerable musical comedy group that pokes fun of politics, politicians and just about anyone or anything that's in the news.

They'll be in Sarasota on Saturday for a performance at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall.

Back at home, the Capitol Steps have a large pool of performers it can cast in each show.

On this road trip, there will only be five Steps -- two women and three men -- and they have to play a variety of characters over the course of the 30-song show. While Barack Obama is on stage singing a show tune, another actor is backstage transforming himself from Joe Biden into Chris Christie, who performs a classical ballet.

"I like to say that we have more costume changes than a Cher concert," Newport said.

To keep current, the Capitol Steps constantly write new material, and Newport writes or co-writes almost all of it.

She's expecting the Sarasota show to be a really strong one. It's just before the elections, and the news in general has been especially good these days.

Newport allows that saying that the news has been good recently is a bit odd, so she qualifies her statement.

"I look at the news differently," she said. "To me, what's important is that it can be funny. And that it rhymes."

Details: 8 p.m. Nov. 1, Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. Tickets: $30-$45. Information: 941-953-3368, vanwezel.org.

-- Marty Clear

This story was originally published October 30, 2014 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Capitol Steps perform in Sarasota ."