Betty goes political: a veteran band that stands up for gay equality--and wrote The L Word's theme song--is making a resurgence in the nation's capital.

I have a crush on Betty. I'm not alone. The 20-year-old band--comprising sisters Amy and Elizabeth Ziff and friend Alyson Palmer--has been packing theaters in satire-starved D.C., the hometown the group abandoned for New York 16 years ago.

Betty's new rock opera, Betty Rules, chronicles the band's history, slyly sliding in references to the current dismal state of politics, the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival, Salem witches, and more. "It's the kind of homecoming we dreamed of," says Amy Ziff, who calls D.C. audiences smart and progressive.

Betty's appealing to a whole new crowd now that they've climbed into bed with The L Word: The new theme song is a Betty original, Elizabeth Ziff signed on as a composer, and the three women have done guest-star turns. "I learned about Betty from a Mend, and then The L Word," says fan Mai, 34, standing in the lobby of a theater before a show. "That Betty scene was really good."

During the recent five-week D.C. run of Betty Rules, progressive groups also channeled Betty's magic for fund-raisers. Human Rights Campaign, Planned Parenthood, and even DC Vote signed on, hoping the band's cachet would draw in progressive capital residents.

"We're multitaskers," says Palmer, a 6-foot-2 bassist with a 17-month-old baby girl named Ruby Lucca, noting that the group maintains long-standing relationships with organizations working to "empower girls" and queer groups.

"We've always believed," Palmer adds, "that every artist has a duty to give back to the community and make the world better." The night of the HRC benefit the trio came back out for an encore, playing The L Word's theme song onstage for the first time. "There was a surge of joy," says Palmer.

(Not everyone is thrilled with Betty's contribution to The L Word. Back in Los Angeles, the theme song is a favorite whipping girl at lesbian gatherings, and a whole message board string on Sho.com is devoted to complaints that the tune "leaves a little to be desired.")

Betty's members are brash and political, sexy and honest, black and white and Jewish, straight and queer--qualifies that inevitably drew them to The L Word, explains Elizabeth Ziff, a lesbian. "It's political, it's sexy, it's really well-written, it's really controversial, it's really necessary, and it's a really good use of the medium," she says. After the benefit 30 or so women headed over to a bar with show creator Ilene Chaiken to watch The L Word.

"We never would have survived being independent musicians without the gay community behind us," Ziff says. "The thing about the gay community is, once they embrace you, it's forever, and it has been forever--it's been 20 years.

"We did AIDS events when it was [called] 'gay cancer,'" she continues, "when people said, 'This is going to destroy your career.'"