Peter Schorsch
Michael Auslen is gone. So, too, is Brandon Larrabee.
A bad Broadway play lasted longer than Jessica Bakeman.
Tia Mitchell now has Georgia on her mind.
Other than Mary Ellen Klas, who’s left at the Miami Herald?
So many stars of the Florida Capitol Press Corps Press Skits are leaving Tallahassee that one has to wonder: Will the show go on in 2018?
The “sometimes annual” Capitol Press Corps Skits are a good-natured spoof of Florida government and politics, staged in the first half of each Legislative Session by reporters covering state affairs. Proceeds of the show go to the Barbara L. Frye scholarship fund, named for the legendary United Press International bureau chief, who covered Tallahassee for 38 years.
Nobody really knows when or how it got started, but the show dates back to the 1960s. In 1970s, then-Gov. Reubin Askew, who was from Oklahoma, went on stage and sang “I’m an Okie From Muskogee,” and a tradition was born. His successor, Bob Graham, worked up elaborate performances with his staff and invited special guest performers, ranging from Jimmy Buffett to the FAMU Marching 100.
Pretty soon, the House and Senate started contributing skits of their own — mostly on video.
Despite their shrinking membership, the Press Corps has still deliver raucous performances each year, although some years are more raucous than others.
The Skits are described as “sometimes annual” because the Corps have suspended the shows a few times, either for lack of humorous goings-on or some ethical qualms about hitting up members and lobbyists for the ticket price.
Will 2018 be one of those years? Consider:
The Press Corps is, probably, at its smallest size in recent memory, if not ever. It’s not only that newspapers like the Palm Beach Post have eliminated a presence in the capital, it’s that there are several vacancies in the Corps, including at the Tampa Bay Times where no one has been named to replace Auslen or Jeremy Wallace. And even if their replacements are identified, would they have enough time to get Skit-ready?
Because that’s another issue the 2018 Skits are facing. They’re suppose to take place January 23, which is two and half months away. Is that enough time to put a show together? Will the players want to practice that much over the holidays?
Which brings me to the final obstacle facing the Skits: the mood in Tallahassee. The scandals engulfing the capital city – FBI probes, sexual harassment – don’t exactly make for comedy gold, Jerry.
On the other hand, maybe what Florida politics needs most is a good laugh.
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Material from the Tallahassee Democrat was used in this post.
