A version of the following article appeared in the June 1, 2026, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with local business-y news and insights for Charlotte, N.C.
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Fast-moving news forced last-minute script rewrites, co-creator says
by Tony Mecia
It’s been a busy last few weeks of news in Charlotte — toll lanes debate, mayor succession intrigue — which is great if you like to follow the news.
But it’s not so great if you’re producing a musical comedy show about Charlotte that is set to debut this week.
That’s the situation Brian Kahn, co-creator of “Charlotte Squawks,” finds himself in. The show’s 21st season debuts Thursday, and the recent crush of Charlotte news has left the producers scrambling.
“With the mayor situation and the toll lanes and national politics being what it is, I think we’ve had more changes to the script than we have ever had,” Kahn told The Ledger. “I’ve rewritten the damn toll-lane song four times.”
“Squawks” is billed as a mash-up between “Saturday Night Live” and Broadway. Blumenthal Arts calls it “the Southeast’s longest-running annual original musical comedy.”
Kahn says some of the local topics include:
The mayor of Mooresville, set to the Garth Brooks hit “The Dance”
“Jennifer Roberts and her excited offers” to be Charlotte’s next mayor
The Carolina Panthers winning the NFC South despite a losing record
Artificial intelligence, with a commercial for a product called ChatCLT that is “trained entirely on Charlotte-based information”
“the LaMelo Ball driving situation”
“It’s going to be fun. There’s a lot of ground to cover,” Kahn said.
The production will also poke fun at national topics and people — including, as usual, President Donald Trump. In previous years, Trump jokes have occasionally prompted audience members to walk out, which Kahn says he doesn’t mind.
People who don’t follow the news might not get some of the jokes. And with people getting information from so many places these days, it’s hard to assume a common base of knowledge.
Kahn says he accepts that not everybody will get all of the gags. For instance, he says there’s a bit about trying to back out of parking spaces at the Pasta & Provisions/Providence Sundries parking lot on Providence Road — which, if you have never been there, might not make any sense. But if you know, you know.
Members of the “Charlotte Squawks” cast in front of a totally 100% new brewery in South End last week. (Photo courtesy of Brian Kahn)
Even references that Kahn figured everybody would get might be lost on some segments of the population. For instance, when the crew last week went to the Charlotte Rail Trail in South End dressed as the 1970s disco band The Village People to film a number about a new/not-so-new Charlotte brewery, several young customers at the brewery had no idea why they were dressed that way. The band was known for its flamboyant and campy costumes, with band members dressed as Native American chiefs, police officers, construction workers and so on.
“They said, ‘Oh, I don’t think I’ve ever seen them, but I’ve heard their name,’” Kahn said. “I didn’t think The Village People was a super deep cut, but apparently it might be.”
“Charlotte Squawks 21: Hold My Beer!” runs June 4-28 at the Booth Playhouse at Blumenthal Arts Center uptown.