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Council's Got Talent

City Council puts on a show

It's a good thing Simon Cowell is not going to be in the room. Some City Council members participating in the Feb. 21 charity event, City Council's Got Talent, say they are not all that skilled at singing, dancing or joking and don't plan to compensate for that weakness with a lot of rehearsal.

The entertainment, says Councilman David Oh, will be in watching elected officials be silly.

"I think it's good to poke fun at yourself," Oh said.

The event at the Philadelphia Academy of the Fine Arts benefits Philabundance, which fights hunger. Tickets are $100.

Councilman Bill Greenlee says he will be doing a big of stand-up but he has not written any jokes yet.

"I'll have to figure something out," he said. "David Letterman and Jerry Seinfeld have nothing to worry about."

Councilwoman Marian Tasco, however, is a seasoned hoofer. Fresh off her 2012 victory in Philadelphia's Dancing with the Stars, also a charity event, Tasco will take the floor with Kevin Vaughn, the husband of one of her staffers.

Councilman Oh will play the guitar even though he has not picked one up much since he was a teenager.

"I never actually studied guitar, so it's more like a playing by the campfire kind of thing," he said, adding that he can play 'Michael, Row Your Boat Ashore."

Oh will also join Councilwoman Cindy Bass and Councilman Curtis Jones Jr. for a takeoff on President Obama's appearance on Jimmy Fallon last year. With a backing band, Obama and Fallon did a "slow jam" on the news – sort of a jazzy, spoken-word performance about interest rates on student loans.

Jones' office found the president inspiring.

"Things (in government) get a little stuffy. We want to make it a little sexy," said Ajeenah Amir, Jones' communications director. "I've been calling it legislative burlesque – fully clothed."

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