The Kinsey Sicks’ latest show, at Theater J, takes maximum advantage of the fact that this is a presidential election year. In “Electile Dysfunction: The Kinsey Sicks for President!” the four actors who make up the Dragapella Beautyshop Quartet (Ben Schatz, Irwin Keller, Maurice Kelly, Jerry Friedman) band together to put the nation on course through their favorite weapons: satire, irreverence and exquisite a cappella singing.
“The premise is that the four of us are running for president as Republicans,” said Schatz, the group’s lyricist. “The show takes place at our campaign rally. We are one candidate because corporations are people, too.
“I’m so excited about this show. It has our trademark raunchy humor but it’s a very smart show. When we did previews in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, many people told us it’s the best show we’ve ever done.”
| Onstage |
| SSLqElectile Dysfunction: The Kinsey Sicks for President!’ |
| Where: Theater J, 1529 16th St. NW |
| When: Through Feb. 19 |
| Info: $31 to $60; 202-518-9400; washingtondcjcc.org |
Along the way, the show ran into some problems when life began to imitate art. “We wrote the script over the summer,” Schatz explained. “But then in the fall, the actual candidates said seriously several things we had written as jokes. So the candidates forced us to ratchet up our jokes. I wish to thank the Republican presidential field for honing our comedic skills.”
This work is a world premiere. “After last year’s holiday show, Theater J said they’d like to commission us to write a show,” Schatz explained. “They let us write whatever we wanted, and we decided an election year show in 2012 was the way to go. So they gave us incredible latitude, and we’re punishing them for it with this product.”
Given that the political landscape has changed so rapidly and radically over the past few months, the show has changed too. “This morning I updated the script to have some jokes reflect today’s news,” Schatz said. “It’s a great opportunity to be current.”
In addition to being the lyricist for the Kinsey Sicks’ parodies, Schatz, who graduated from Harvard Law School, also writes the music for the original tunes in their productions. He admits that their shows won’t appeal to every crowd. “We don’t aim to please everyone,” he said. “We do have a point of view.
“When we played in Puerto Vallarta, there was a woman in the audience who owned a shooting gallery. We have a song about gun control. She couldn’t have missed the content of that song, but she loved the show. We’re funny enough and our singing is gorgeous enough so, even if people don’t agree with our political opinions, there’s still a lot for them to like.”
As to whether the Kinsey Sicks will have a super-PAC to help them get elected, Ben says simply, “But of course. Absolutely.”
