Vast right-wing conspiracy:

Given Rush Limbaugh’s outsized presence in popular culture, it would seem both inevitable and yet somehow redundant to write a musical based on the radio host’s life.  Now, with Rush Limbaugh! The Musical, famed improv group Second City has taken up the challenge of setting the man’s life to stage and music, with mixed results.

The show plays out like a series of vignettes in the life of Rush Limbaugh (Mark Sutton), as told through narrator Shasta’s (Karla L. Beard) Disney-esque commentary.  It begins in Limbaugh’s Missouri youth, depicting him as stuck in an idealistic, segregated 1950s way of life (though it is 1968), and introduces Hillary Clinton (Colleen Murray) and Barney Frank (Kevin Sciretta) as abortion-loving, social justice obsessed hippies living in the local commune. The rest of the show follows the two sides throughout their intertwining history, touching on events in Limbaugh’s life and the larger world of politics. 

Throughout the show the humor generally errs on the side of outrageous and relies heavily on shock value. After a conversation with a man suffering from hemorrhoids Limbaugh decides to go into radio to become an “unbearable pain-in-the-ass.” The discovery of Limbaugh’s addiction to OxyCotin is depicted in a psychedelic scene complete with dancers in Ronald Reagan masks. The show also dives four years into the hypothetical future to depict Limbaugh’s ultimate descent into power-hungry madness, in which he anoints himself the new savior of humanity, because apparently “Jesus has swung too far to the left.” 

There are also several on-going gags lampooning Hillary Clinton’s gender, Barney Frank’s sexuality and Rush Limbaugh’s generous girth, pill addiction and hearing problems. These jokes fail to bring anything new to the table in terms of political satire, and are worn out by the end of the show.

However, Rush Limbaugh! gains some points for smart and effective use of the musical genre.  The setting of Rush Limbaugh’s life as an epic Broadway musical is a testament to the spectacle he has created in his radio persona and creates a mockingly dramatic tone for the entire show.  The subject matter of each individual song is cleverly matched up with Broadway classics that add an extra dimension to the mock-dramatic effect of the musical.  For example, Senator Clinton’s title song called “Seriously,” begging the male-dominated political world to take her seriously after her many achievements, is a mash up of Wicked’s “Popular” and “Defying Gravity,” both songs describing the female protagonist gaining power over an oppressive world.  And the triumphant “La Vie Conservative” pays tribute to the stars of the Republican Party (including all the Palin children) in the tune of “La Vie Boheme” a song from Rent that pays tribute to liberalism. 
Individual characters also had great performances. Cayne Collier as Reverend Rightwing gives a hilarious performance as he grows from a small-town conservative preacher to the flashy, blinged-out leader of the Church of Immaculate Exception, poking fun at the mega-church powerhouses that follow Limbaugh so zealously. In solo scenes set in the radio studio, Mark Sutton perfectly embodies a caricature of Limbaugh: overinflated ego, ludicrously outspoken views and embellished tone, all while he leans back and puffs on a cigar.

While song choice and individual performances were enjoyable to watch, overall the show failed in bringing any new perspectives to the phenomenon that is Rush Limbaugh.  While Hillary Clinton and other political figures put out perfectly crafted speeches, making it easy for comedians to satirize them by pulling out the real meaning behind the wordplay, Limbaugh unapologetically says what he means.  There were difficulties in discerning what was satire and what could actually be a quote from Limbaugh. How can you caricature someone who once said to a black caller, “Take that bone out of your nose and call me back?” While there were several clever moments, it felt like the play was trying to be more outrageous than Limbaugh, which is a difficult task. Perhaps the show should take a cue from its title character: keep it simple and brutally honest.

Rush Limbaugh! The Musical is now showing at The Second City located ar 1616 N. Wells St. through Mar. 24. Tickets are $25.

Be the first to comment on this article!

Add comment


I am not posting spam. I understand posting spam or other comments that are unrelated to this article will cause my comment to be flagged for deletion and possibly cause my IP address to be permanently banned from this server.

Enter the characters in the image above:

log out