The 45th annual Gridiron Show is set for 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 29, in the Lake Charles Civic Center’s Buccaneer Room.

The event, hosted by the Ad and Press Club of Southwest Louisiana, pokes fun at politicians and other newsmakers in the area. Theresa Needham, club president, said this year’s theme is “Redneck Royalty.”

Needham said Gridiron is comparable to “Saturday Night Live,” with performers doing a variety of sketches and songs parodying people and events that made headlines over the year. This is her 17th year being part of the show, she said.

The sketches are written by club members, and the show takes about two months to get prepared and staged, Needham said. The show’s roughly 20 performers have rehearsed since early June.

“The premise is always the same,” she said. “The way the news goes is how we pick our material.”

Needham said she has met many performers over the years, but that the show has always maintained a “core group” — including 92-year-old Ruthie Broussard, who has performed in every Gridiron show.

While Needham couldn’t give away too much about the show, she said one of the sketches is about the recent Lake Charles mayoral race. Another addresses the constant flooding in the area.

A social will be at 6 p.m. with a cash bar and food catered by local restaurants. Needham said the show has returned to its more popular dinner-theater style.

Proceeds from the show will benefit the Ad and Press Club Scholarship Foundations at McNeese State University and Sowela Technical Community College.

 Tickets are $50 or $400 for a table of eight. Tables receive reserved seating. Tickets can be purchased online at www.adpressclub.com, or by emailing gridironshow@yahoo.com.

Some of the cast of the 45th annual Gridiron Show ham it up while preparing for Saturday night’s performance. (Special to the American Press)