By Richard Tarbox
The first significant example of satirical political writing in the American Colonies was by Benjamin Franklin. In his 1773 Rules by Which a Great Empire May Be Reduced to a Small One, Franklin took a proto-Colbert Report stance on the importance of using oppression as a means of destroying one’s empire in the most efficient way possible. Franklin knew the power of satire, even if fighting tyranny was serious business.
Mark Twain also infused political satire into his popular humor writing in the late 1800s. But it was illustrator Thomas Nast who arguably had the greatest impact on public perception by more or less creating the concept of a political cartoon. Nast used his satirical illustrations in Harper’s Weekly to promote the rights of newly emancipated Southern Black people and criticize corrupt politicians like New York’s Boss Tweed. Fast-forward 100 years — Hunter S. Thompson’s gonzo journalism and Gary Trudeau’s popular comic strip Doonesbury would frequently feature satirical depictions of the Nixon administration. Today, satirical print journalism continues with publications like The Onion.
Satire eventually found its way into musical theater. In 1933, in the waning days of vaudeville, Moss Hart and Irving Berlin created As Thousands Cheer, the first musical revue to focus on satirical depictions of contemporary politicians and celebrities. It was a risk, as jokes and references that resonated with audiences would stale quickly after each performance, eventually becoming impossibly dated and of little relevance. It also invented a new genre: the Political Satirical Musical Comedy Revue.
Washington, DC, with its inescapable politics and rich performing arts community, is the logical home for a Political Satirical Musical Comedy Revue. From the one-man piano comedy cabarets of Mark Russell (when asked if he had any writers, he’d reply, “Oh, yes. I have 535 writers: One hundred in the Senate and 435 in the House of Representatives!”), to the Capitol Steps (formed in 1981, shuttered in 2020, but reborn in 2022 as the Capitol Fools). Political Satirical Musical Comedy Revue has long been a tradition in the most political city in the United States.
Which brings us to Hexagon, a group that bills itself as Washington’s Only Original Political Satirical Musical Comedy Revue. Making its debut in 1955 (and including humorist Tom Lehrer as an early member), they soundly predate the Capitol Steps and Mark Russell. Hexagon has produced a new production almost every year for over 70 years, with dad joke show titles like Mirth of a Nation, Barbs & Snipes Forever, Capitol Offenses, Oaf of Office, It’s a Grand Old Gag, Let Freedom Zing!… just to give you an idea of the type of comedy to expect.
Hexagon is a massive volunteer organization that includes performers, writers, musicians, designers, directors, technicians, and support staff totaling over 100 members. They have donated over $4 million to Washington, DC-area nonprofits throughout their existence. Watching their latest production, Lollapalosers! (running through April 26 at Atlas Performing Arts Center), I was reminded of the community and spirit of another long-running performing group, The Washington Revels. Clearly, their participants on and off stage are motivated believers.
The performance (I was there on opening night) was well attended, and the audience was engaged and supportive. The number of performers totaled nearly 30, plus a six-piece orchestra. The evening was divided into two acts, the first about 60 minutes, the second about 30. Each act consisted of nearly a dozen sketches, mostly live musical performances by the ensemble, but also prerecorded video segments (“man on the street” interviews and a recurring segment satirically mocking the married life of doppelgangers Bernie and Bernice Sanders). There were significant audio issues with the prerecorded segments in Act I, but they were resolved for Act II.
The show also featured four live Newsbreak segments, where real journalists Christine Brennan and Hillary Howard, clearly thinking this whole thing was a hoot, traded one-liner news headlines, complete with rimshots, from behind an anchor desk that took way too long to move into place on the stage (a roster of local journalists rotates throughout the run — the printed program lists the complete line-up, but Hexagon’s website does not).
So, who did Hexagon satirize? The show started with Hillary Clinton making a speech and throwing shade at Taylor Swift (I was reminded of the hysterical musical parody portrayal of Clinton in Signature Theatre’s 2024 production of Soft Power by David Henry Hwang and Jeanine Tesori). But also Kristi Noem (with the jokes being more about her outfits than her policies), Marjorie Taylor Greene, Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, Bernie Sanders, and fleeting jabs at Elizabeth Warren, Pam Bondi, Nancy Mace, and the entire Supreme Court.
You may notice a big omission in that lineup. The only significant presence of the current occupant of the White House in the revue was a segment where they played actual audio of the press event where the President responded to a question about the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi by saying, “Things happen.” This led to a parody song in which “Mr. Rogers” explained away tragedies and atrocities to a group of children using the same phrase. The audience seemed dumbstruck. This was followed by a spoken segment titled “Love the Children,” where “Ms. Rachel” pleaded with the audience to not ignore the plight of starving children in Gaza. I expected the sketch to then have ridiculous red-hatted characters absurdly rejecting her calls for love and kindness, but it was not presented comedically (thankfully), and its placement created such tonal whiplash, being bookended by comparative fecklessness, that the audience had no idea how to respond.
Act II did feature a few moments worth highlighting. A sketch about comparing quotes inscribed on the walls of the Kennedy Center from JFK to those by DJT landed its jokes well. The entire cast performed a musical parody of Carl Orff’s “O Fortuna” from Carmina Burana that was actually impressive as a piece of choral music. And a segment where the justices of the Supreme Court sang a spoof of “I’m Just a Girl Who Can’t Say No” from Oklahoma! made me chuckle. But Act II also featured a dusty segment with Clinton, Pelosi, and Warren extolling the joy of shopping at “Tarzhay” that felt out of touch with both feminism and consumerism (the song was written by playwright and Hexagon alum Joan Cushing, who passed away in 2024, so I can understand the troupe still including it).
And look — yes, the comedy is broad, silly, and often relies on low-hanging fruit, leaning into corny schtick, one-line groaners, and toothless chestnut tropes straight off the floor of the Tonight Show’s writers’ room. But the performers are talented volunteers, making up with enthusiasm for whatever they may lack in polish. That’s exactly what it says on the tin. “Poking fun at what the world’s coming to” is what Hexagon promises at the outset. And that’s what they do. So… success?
There is absolutely an audience for Political Satirical Musical Comedy Revue in Washington, DC. And Hexagon is to be respected and valued for its adherence to its mission for 70 years. I left the theater feeling glad that they soldier on. But politics today feels different. Many people have a very hard time entertaining “both sides” barbs and treating those in charge of our government as goofy celebrities when they are making real decisions that can and often do harm people and destroy lives. Amid Hexagon’s successful puns and less-successful clunkers, perhaps the one segment in the revue that felt most relevant to the temperature of today’s world was the one that felt most out of place — Ms. Rachel’s appeal to our collective humanity. I guess fighting tyranny really is serious business.
Running Time: Two hours with a 15-minute intermission.
Lollapalosers! plays through April 26, 2026, presented by Hexagon, performing at Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H Street NE, Washington, DC. Tickets are available online or through the box office, (202) 399-7993 or boxoffice@atlasarts.org.
The cast is here.
