It’s been nearly a month since Donald Trump orchestrated a takeover of the Kennedy Center and had himself elected the chairman of its Board of Trustees. In the time since then, more than 20 shows scheduled at the Washington, DC-based venue have either been canceled or been postponed.
The list of impacted of events was shared by the Kennedy Center late this week alongside a statement from Roma Daravi, the center’s new VP of Public Relations. “In the spirit of transparency due to the litany of misinformation being spread in the press, it is important to give the public a complete account of program cancellations over the past six months,” Daravi wrote, who added the “only shows under the Kennedy Center umbrella that we have canceled since February 12th were due to lack of sales or artist availability.”
Indeed, each show listed on the center’s roundup includes a reason why it was axed, with most reading “Canceled by artist,” “Canceled due to low ticket sales,” or “Canceled for financial reasons.”
But looking deeper, it’s clear that the changes happening at the Kennedy Center are political in nature. Many of the artists who have distanced themselves from the organization have done so out of protest, including Ben Folds, who resigned from an advisory position last month, and the cancelation of a run of Hamilton, who’s producers said they “cannot presently support” the institution.
Further, publications like Deadline have highlighted that several of the shows that were canceled or postponed for “financial reasons” featured themes that contradict with Trump’s conservative vision for American culture, like the vaccine-themed play Eureka Day and the LGBTQ-celebrating adaptation of the story A Peacock Among Pigeons by the National Symphony Orchestra.
Meanwhile, the Kennedy Center does still have events coming up, including a reported performance by the J6 Prison Choir, comprised of men previously imprisoned for their involvement in the January 6th United States Capitol attack.
— The Kennedy Center (@kencen) March 7, 2025
