Amazing as it may seem, political satirists The Capitol Steps will mark their 21st consecutive Fourth of July appearance at the Ann Arbor Summer Festival when they offer a pair of Power Center shows Monday.

The group is also observing its 30th year in 2011 and in honor of that milestone, will offer an homage to many of the great moments of musical skewering accomplished during its history.

“Since it’s our 30th anniversary, and so many funny things have happened over the years, we made a song where we summarized them all in 3 minutes, set to ‘We Didn’t Start the Fire,’ by Billy Joel,” said founding member Elaina Newport. “It’s a trip down memory lane, whether it’s governors on the Appalachian Trail, to Dan Quayle spelling potato with an ‘e,’ or two Bushes and a Clinton —it’s quite a spectacle,” she said.

The group was born in December 1981, when some staffers for Sen. Charles Percy were planning entertainment for a Christmas party. They decided to dig into the headlines of the day, and so created song parodies and skits that conveyed satirical humor. The concept caught on.

“That was the early years of Ronald Reagan,” recalled Newport. “It was a fun time. We figured an actor had gone into politics, and we were in politics so we could go into acting—we were evening things out.”

Besides politics, the show also includes material drawn from current headlines, including airport security screenings, jets with holes in their cabins, and health care reform. However the texting antics of Anthony Wiener, the revisionist history offered by Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich’s troubles are among bits included in the Steps’ current production. Even Michigan native / presidential candidate Mitt Romney gets his moment in the spotlight.

“We’ve been following every day of the Wiener story, just changing the song as it evolves. Everything sounds dirty when you talk about Weiner. It’s like he’s thinking of the comedians when he does this stuff,” said Newport.

“The joke that we have in our song is basically ‘what is this guy thinking?’ Women don’t want to see these pictures. What they really want to see is you cleaning the house. That’s important for women—that’s kind of the direction we go,” she laughed.

There is no shortage of material, Newport agreed. “If it’s not Weiner, it’s Sarah Palin running around the country quoting Paul Revere’s story … We’ve got your own Mitt (Romney) … he’s fun because he’s taking positions all over the place. We’ve got a song (for him called) “Help Me Fake it To the Right.” And we’ve got Osama bin Laden with an “Under the Sea” parody (sung from the point of view of President Obama) that’s a cheery, feel-good song (“We got him with three slugs, now he’s with sea slugs”).

“We’re hoping Newt hangs in there because he’s probably the funniest Republican we have, and he’s on the edge of disaster at all times,” she added.

Newport said the troupe was disappointed when Donald Trump dropped out of the presidential race. “He was a riot,” she said. “You could even imagine having Sarah Palin come and shoot whatever that thing is on his head. And of course, before Wiener came along, Arnold was the funniest thing. We actually were trying to figure out what was funny about Arnold—I tried to picture him single and going to a dating service and trying to explain all this to the person talking the application.”

Freshness is everything when it comes to a piece of Capitol Steps satire.

“One of the things (you wonder about) is what is going to stay in the consciousness and stick around. … Three months ago we had Christopher Lee, the congressman who put himself up on Craigslist. That was funny for about a week, then it dropped right out of the news, whereas other stories hang around a lot longer. You are always trying to figure out how long a song can work, how long a song can stay in the show. Really, the audience is the final decider, as George Bush would say. If they keep laughing, we keep doing it.

“We probably have 10 new songs since the CD (“Desperate Housemembers”) came out in April.”

While some issues may have a short shelf life, others stay fresh longer.

“We’ve got some songs like “How Do You Solve a Problem Like Korea,” which has been around a couple of years now because Kim Jong Il does not seem to be going anywhere, while other stuff seems to come and go more quickly.

“As far as Obama goes, we’ve got a skit about him basically deciding that to keep his poll numbers up he’s going to become the Old Spice man (made famous in recent TV spots) for a while and try that sexy approach. We even have Sarah Palin doing a rap (“The Midnight Ride of Paul Revised”).”

Newport said the group always looks forward to performing here because Ann Arborites are politically savvy.

“If I could kiss up for a moment, it’s among the smartest audiences we get,” said Newport. “They are laughing at all the little references, like Newt Gingrich’s wife’s first name (Callista). They get it all. … Newt has been married more times than all the Mormons in the race put together.”

Meanwhile, Summer Festival Director Robb Woulfe said he is happy to carry on what has become an annual Fourth of July weekend tradition.

“People fit that into their schedule of picnics and barbecues and fireworks,” he said. “It is somewhat of a phenomenon for us.”