In the race to the White House, Sen. Lindsey Graham appears on Broadway.
That's The Broadway Cafe in West Burlington, Iowa.
"I just like the idea of telling people who I am, unfiltered," he said.
The Senator from South Carolina tries not to offer the same song-and-dance.
"It's fun," he said. "It's called democracy, right? I like to see the stereotypes of me melt when people actually see me."
But speaking with just one table of folks on Wednesday morning, Graham knows that it's an uphill battle.
He ranks near the bottom of most polls. Still, his dream lives on, one voter at a time.
"I don't have the most money," he said. "I can't spend $10 million, but I can meet as many people as possible."
Graham predicts a GOP presidential win in 2016 unless the party manages to shoot itself in the foot.
That could happen with about a third of the Republicans running, or by turning off Hispanic and women voters, he added.
Graham says that his political and military qualifications make him stand out from the pack of 17.
That's why he's playing a form of strategic small ball in early primary states.
"This is the antidote to the big money," he said. "Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina are the antidotes to the buying of the White House."
While events don't get much smaller than this one, Graham embraces the underdog role.
"They'll have an impression of me they will never get from a television commercial," he said. "If you take that off the table, how could I possibly survive?"
For now, content with a curtain call at The Broadway Cafe in West Burlington.