Danny Ruskin

In celebration of Flag Day, Patriotic Song titles may be announced from the stage and may even be played at some time during the performance… Or not. There will be a medley of Presidential Favorites. Possibly. Some tunes will be made up on the spot. We’ll see.

The thing about Washington is that we produce more nonsense than we can possibly consume. So, every day, we send out another feast of information causing famine of understanding for which there is a need for the antacid of patriotic music. War, pre-war or post-war, it’s still a musical show. There’s a lot of scattershot singing with rattatat words. The tunes are simple and the titles write themselves. At the moment, there are songs about cellular phones, computers, fitness, and the Presidential candidates.

Of course, audiences keep coming back for a few “must see” bits: the denial of global warming, The Fed’s latest economic forecast and what the New Jersey Medical Association called classic, No Frills Surgery. All in all, this may be the just the right event for troubling times. Always in good taste – often about the tasteless. And so I leave you with the words of Leo Tolstoy – I believe he was on Doctor Phil, plugging War and Peace – “the show must go on.”

~Dan Ruskin

Washington’s politically correct and fraudulently funny flag-waver, Dan Ruskin says that the only sure thing about politics is laughter, unless you really count the votes. As a comedy writer, he’s delivered for some of the best – and some the worst – in the business. He says he can’t remember which was which. He has been around a long time. His column was in Roll Call when LBJ was still on The Hill. He claims to have written Vice President Nixon’s funniest stuff. In Woody Allen’s Academy Award-winning Annie Hall, he played himself. He claims he was miscast. In a dark corner of his office, three plaques gather dust on the floor: A cable Ace Award (which he’s renting), a public service Monty from CBBC (The Full Monty, he assures us) and a faded Blue Ribbon from Ocheemagachee Summer Camp, 1949, for having the “driest bunk in the wigwam.”

He’s still very dry… and very funny.

Additional Resources

Millennium Stage Home Page

Watch Past Performances

6/14/04: Danny Ruskin

Danny Ruskin, pianist and comedian, entertains audiences with his playing and wit.

Danny Ruskin

Danny Ruskin, pianist and comedian, entertains audiences with his playing and wit.

Comment, rate, and more...

Performances

Search by Date

Annual Events

Search by Category

Visit these areas of our website:

Tickets

Buy a Ticket

Subscribe

Customer Help

Box Office

Contribute

Give Now

Support Us

Get Involved

Visit

The Kennedy Center

Area Information

The Venues

Area Map

Explore the Arts

Videos

Live Broadcasts

Interactives

Artists

Blogs

Education

Performances & Events

Arts & Schools

Career Development

VSA and Accessibility

Arts Management

About

A Living Memorial

Our People

Danny Ruskin

Additional Resources

Watch Past Performances

Comments