Photo: Disney+/Everett Collection
In the wake of several resignations from the board of directors at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts due to President Trump’s takeover, Issa Rae announced that she’s no longer performing her show, An Evening with Issa Rae, at the venue. But she’s just one of many who has canceled an upcoming performance, or had one canceled by the Trump admin.
Fellow Travelers has decided to withdraw from the 2025-2026 season of the Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center, the New York Times reported on March 27. In a letter to the WNO obtained by the Times, creators Gregory Spears and Greg Pierce argued that the Trump takeover of the Kennedy Center conflicted with values of “freedom and liberty for all people” that are highlighted in the opera, which is based on Thomas Mallon’s 2007 novel that features two gay government workers who fall in love during the 1950s. “We have made the impossibly difficult decision that the Kennedy Center is not a place the team feels comfortable having the work presented,” Spears and Pierce wrote. WNO leaders said in a statement that they were disappointed by the decision, adding that the WNO “will remain a place for patrons of all backgrounds and beliefs.” Fellow Travelers will be replaced by a new production of Robert Ward’s opera The Crucible.
Hamilton announced on March 5 that it would no longer perform at the Kennedy Center, per the New York Times. “This latest action by Trump means it’s not the Kennedy Center as we knew it,” Lin-Manuel Miranda said in a statement. “The Kennedy Center was not created in this spirit, and we’re not going to be a part of it while it is the Trump Kennedy Center. We’re just not going to be part of it.” The musical was scheduled to be a part of the Kennedy Center’s 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence celebration. “This is a publicity stunt that will backfire,” Richard Grenell, the center’s new president, said on social media. “The Arts are for everyone — not just for the people who Lin likes and agrees with.”
Pulitzer Prize-winning singer and musician Rhiannon Giddens canceled on the Ken Cen on February 25. In a statement posted to social media, Giddens said she’s moving her May 11 performance to D.C. venue The Anthem. “The Kennedy Center show was booked long before the current administration decided to take over this previously bipartisan institution,” she wrote.
The cancellation of a two-week run of Eureka Day, a play set at a private school dealing with a mumps outbreak and an anti-vaxx movement, was announced on February 21. Due to the subject material, some people assumed that the reason was because of the Trump takeover; however, the Manhattan Theater Club told the New York Times that they made the decision “due to financial circumstances.”
On February 13, Issa Rae wrote on Instagram Stories, “Unfortunately, due to what I believe to be an infringement on the values of an institution that has faithfully celebrated artists of all backgrounds through all mediums, I’ve decided to cancel my appearance at this venue.” She followed the news with a meme featuring Tiffany Pollard from Flavor of Love with Trump edited in.
On the same day as Rae’s statement, the band Low Cut Connie announced they were canceling their March 19 performance. “I was very excited to perform as part of this wonderful institution’s Social Impact series, which emphasizes community, joy, justice and equity through the arts. Upon learning that this institution that has run non-partisan for 54 years is now chaired by President Trump himself and his regime, I decided I will not perform there,” singer Adam Weiner said on Instagram.
With regard to his February 13 performance at the Kennedy Center, W. Kamau Bell took the stance, essentially, of I was here first, motherfucker. “I think Joe Biden was still running for president when the show was booked,” Bell told NPR on February 17. “So like, this was not connected to any of this.” It’s the same one many people who remain on Twitter have, and why they will never call it X. Bell also said his main commitment was to the residents of Washington D.C. rather than the White House. “The Kennedy Center is in a city called Washington, D.C. So as much as MAGA runs the White House, maybe they don’t run Washington, D.C. And Washington, D.C., has always been a bright blue, progressive place,” he said. “If you want to move the White House to Branson, Mo., understandably you would program the Kennedy Center in a different way.”
The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington D.C. issued a statement explaining that their performance with the National Symphony Orchestra has been canceled. “The piece was intended to be a part of the Kennedy Center’s Pride celebration and we were very excited to be collaborating with the NSO as their guest chorus,” the statement read in part. “We will continue to advocate for artistic expression that reflects the depth and diversity of our community and country. We will continue to sing and raise our voices for equality.” Trump posted to Truth Social about stopping the “The Kennedy Center featured Drag Shows,” and this is perhaps what he meant. The GMCW will still perform the piece they’d intended to do at the Kennedy Center as part of World Pride 2025.
The Kennedy Center canceled the touring children’s musical Finn. In a post on Instagram, show creators Chris Nee, Michael Kooman, and Christopher Dimond shared a statement breaking the news to their audience. They wrote: “While not a surprise given the events of the last week, it is a heartbreak. But we will not be silenced. And we will not abandon the kids we wrote this show for. They are already under attack from every side. We didn’t ask for this joy bomb of a show to be a part of the resistance, but here we are.” The Kennedy Center reportedly told Deadline it was a “strictly financial decision” to cancel the tour.
On February 26, Deadline reported that Broadway luminaries such as Andrew Rannells and Bonnie Milligan would be performing Finn at New York’s Town Hall in March. Other performers scheduled to perform this one-off show on St. Patrick’s Day include Andrea Martin, Nikki M. James, Kelli O’Hara, and Jose Llana. The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington D.C. also booked a spot on the lineup as well. So there.
Conan O’Brien received this year’s Mark Twain Prize for American Humor as scheduled on March 23 at an event put on by the Kennedy Center. He drew applause from the audience when he thanked ousted president Deborah Rutter and ousted board chairman David Rubenstein by name in his acceptance speech, and also acknowledged that Kennedy Center staffers were “worried” about the future. Attendees apparently made quips or references to Trump and the new direction of the KenCen throughout the night, with the Associated Press reporting that Sarah Silverman in particular made “multiple Trump jokes that were too vulgar to print.”
If you’re feeling FOMO, don’t worry — Netflix was there filming the festivities, which will arrive on the streaming platform on May 4.
