DES MOINES, Iowa—Singing, tap dancing and a farm family dubbed the typical Iowa caucus-goers.
It's all part of "CAUCUS! The Musical," a play being performed in Des Moines for those who can't get enough of the media-saturated event.
"Politics and the entire caucus process is very theatrical," said playwright Robert John Ford. "There's a lot of sights and sounds and it's very over the top."
The play centers on Iowa farmer Eldon Wise and his family, who the media has dubbed "the typical Iowa caucus-goers." Like other Iowans, they're bombarded with phone calls, e-mails, negative ads and personal visits -- all of which stir up debate and sometimes rifts between relatives.
All the campaigning comes amid a backdrop of an unpopular war and an unpopular incumbent Republican president. Among the candidates is a black woman, a conservative pastor, a gay man and a Hispanic governor. One campaign gets caught planting a question in the audience.
It all sounds familiar, but Ford said he first outlined the play almost eight years ago.
"A lot of what I wrote as fiction then has become reality in the current campaign cycle," he said. "Audiences are walking out saying these characters are based on so-and-so and I try to tell people I wrote them all before I knew who the current crop of candidates would be, but so much of it is mirroring in real life."
Ford, 46, grew up in Fort Dodge and participated in his first caucus in 1980. He moved to California for 15 years but returned to Iowa before the 2004 race.
Given his familiarity with the caucus process, Ford said he knew he had perfect material for the stage -- including 20 characters and 12 original songs.
"There's a lot of song and dance done by the candidates ... I thought this had to be a musical," he said.
One of the actors, 25-year-old Tim Sullivan, plays a character who makes an announcement immediately after the caucus results come in -- he's running in 2012.
"The candidates start running way, way too early," said Sullivan. "Basically right after elections are done, the next cycle starts."
Sullivan said the cast is fortunate to have access to the real campaigns in the state, which helps enhance their performances.
Scott Siepker plays a character whose biggest concern is gay marriage and who aligns himself with a gay candidate. Siepker, 25, said conservatives and liberals who've seen the play have told him they like that neither side is spared.
"People have been able to laugh at the other side of the aisle and at themselves," he said.
Although he's poking fun at the caucuses, Ford said he hopes his play inspires greater participation.
"I really hope people walk away, saying, 'You know, I've never participated in this process before but I'm going to this year,' " he said.
And he's not limiting himself to Iowans or the caucuses. He'll debut a New Hampshire version on Jan. 4 in Portsmouth, called "The Primary Primary," and he's talking to theater companies about performing versions of the play in Denver and Minneapolis-St. Paul, which will host the national party conventions.
