Cornyation King Anchovy LIX Marty Schlesinger watches this years show from his throne. Credit: Julián P. Ledezma

From Erika Kirk and San Antonio’s Public Works Department to Councilwoman Sukh Kaur’s dog, no one in local or national politics was spared during the first night of Cornyation, Fiesta’s annual satirical romp.

During Tuesday’s opener at the Charline McCombs Empire Theatre, the show went after targets like a pitbull with a taste for letter carriers — and the satire left plenty of bite marks.

The highlight was a sketch dubbed the “Duchess of Uncivil Service” by Tori of the House of Santos. In it, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani paid a visit to the Alamo City to teach its City Council members how to behave.​

However, Mamdani’s civics lesson descended into chaos after SA Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones slapped him for failing to address her as “Mayor Jones,” an early etiquette demand she actually made of council colleagues. Jones then engaged in a standoff with District 1 Councilwoman Sukh Kaur and her dog — a cheeky reference to the mayor’s recent censure by others on the dais. 

In the sketch, the City Hall impasse was ultimately interrupted by a drunk Ivalis Meza Gonzalez crashing her car through a wall — an obvious dig at the District 8 councilwoman’s arrest on suspicion of DWI weeks after she was sworn in last year.

Meanwhile, another council member who faced a DWI charge, District 10’s Marc Whyte, was portrayed onstage as a Corona bottle with arms and legs.

You could say the Cornyation crew pull no punches.

Another sketch depicted Erika Kirk, the widow of far-right activist Charlie Kirk, dealing with her husband’s death by selling merchandise at conservative conventions. Closer to home, the show also tackled San Antonio’s never-ending construction projects, including South Alamo Street, which finally reopened last week 18 months behind schedule and $10 million over budget.

Cornyation began in 1951 at the Arneson River Theatre as part of Night in Old San Antonio (NIOSA). However, the show was forced into hiatus a decade later after it was deemed “too modern” by the Conservation Society of San Antonio.

The satirical showcase made its eventual return in 1970s — first at the Bonham Exchange, then the Magik Theatre, before finding a permanent home at the Empire.

In these trying times of state sponsored censorship, Cornyation continues to show the importance of why it’s necessary to hold those in power accountable through comedy, even when those who are the butt end of the joke are in the audience — as in Jones’ case.

There are four shows left in this year’s iteration of Cornyation, including shows at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday.

Tickets start at $42.30, with proceeds going to nonprofits focused on HIV/AIDS support and the arts.

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Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...