Rod Blagojevich Superstar

Rod Blagojevich wants to be in the spotlight.

He and NBC had hoped he could be on the reality show I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here!"

That didn't work out. The show is set in Costa Rica, and U.S. District Judge James B. Zagel wouldn't let him leave the country. His wife, Patti, took his place.

Blagojevich did manage to get a bit of attention for himself last night.

CHICAGO (AP) -- Ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich doesn't seem to mind being the butt of a theatrical joke.

Blagojevich got in on the joke Saturday evening, appearing as himself in a comedy show that lampoons the rise and fall of his own political career.

He opened The Second City's "Rod Blagojevich Superstar," a parody of the rock opera "Jesus Christ Superstar," standing on a chair with his arms raised as if he were being crucified.

The show—which portrays Blagojevich as greedy, tactless and hair-obsessed—opened in February and was supposed to end June 14. But production officials extended it to Aug. 9 due to constant sold-out performances.

A full house cheered as Blagojevich, who was removed from office in January and has pleaded not guilty to wide-ranging federal corruption charges, appeared on stage wearing a suit and tie.

"Where were you when I was impeached?" he asked the audience.

...Before the nearly hourlong show—which includes duets with an actor portraying U.S. Sen. Roland Burris—the ex-governor told the audience he hadn't seen the production before, but assured them it was a "fictitious account" of his life.

...Blagojevich also worked in an endorsement of his wife, Patti, a contestant on NBC's reality show "I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here!"

He asked people to vote for her to remain on the show, which asks viewers to decide which quasi-celebrity should leave a Costa Rican jungle.

..."In the tradition of Chicago politics, you can vote ten times," Blagojevich joked. "Vote early and often."

As soon as Blagojevich left the stage, cast members launched into a song that asks, "What kind of idiot sells a Senate seat?"

In the show, Patti Blagojevich was portrayed as cutthroat and foul-mouthed. One of the songs was an expletive-laden version of "I Don't Know How to Love Him."

The former Illinois first lady, who has not been charged with wrongdoing, was famously labeled a "potty mouth" after the FBI said it recorded profanity-laced rants against critics of her husband.

When Blagojevich returned to the stage for the improv portion of the show, he was asked what he thought of the rock opera.

"It's b-------," he said, grinning.

Rod and Patti Blagojevich seem to be willing to do anything to profit from their notoriety as much as possible as quickly as possible.

Patti was willing to eat a tarantula as an "act of love" as part of her stint on the reality show.

Although Blagojevich says he will make a donation to charity from his earnings from his Second City appearance, it's no secret that he's trying to use his "superstar" status to raise money to take care of his expenses and support his family before his trial on corruption charges begins next year.

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

Is former Gov. Rod Blagojevich a hot Rod?

• • Translation: While wife, Patti Blagojevich, endures the heat and bugs on a Costa Rica "Survivor"-style TV show to help feed her family, her husband has been issued a formal challenge: A winner-take-all drag race for $10,000.

One day you're the governor and first lady of Illinois and the next you're considering drag racing and consuming a tarantula.

Only in America.