Artists scheduled to perform at the Kennedy Center said they either canceled their own events or had them canceled by the center after President Donald Trump took control of its board earlier this month.
Six artists who planned to perform at the Kennedy Center in the coming months said either the Center canceled their shows for financial reasons or they opted not to attend after Trump, who became president of the center’s board last Wednesday, proposed changes to the types of performances permitted at the venue. The cancellations came about a week after Trump fired and replaced members of the board, most of whom were former President Joe Biden’s appointees, in alignment with his promise to “make the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., GREAT AGAIN.”
The Kennedy Center said it canceled two events for financial reasons, according to statements provided to Deadline and the Washington Blade. At least four artists canceled their performances at the Kennedy Center, many citing disapproval of Trump’s appointment to the board.
Comedian and actress Issa Rae was the first to announce on Instagram her decision to cancel after the board elected Trump its president, citing an “infringement on the values” of the Kennedy Center.
Christopher Dimond and Michael Kooman — an award-winning show writing duo commissioned by the Kennedy Center to produce an original musical, “Finn” — learned on Wednesday that the Kennedy Center canceled the musical’s first tour following its successful opening, citing financial concerns, Dimond said.
“Trump had put out the Truth Social statement on Friday, and by Wednesday, we were told that the tour wasn’t happening,” Dimond said of Trump’s first post voicing his intention to take over the Center.
Dimond told the Washington Post last week that the musical could be seen as an allegory for the LGBTQ+ experience, but the Kennedy Center did not directly mention it as a reason for canceling.
Dimond said the show was a “financial success” for the Kennedy Center in its initial run, adding that they planned to take the performance on tour. The Center informed Kooman and Dimond of their decision to cancel the show over the phone before Trump’s election as the Center’s chair but after he had fired all of Biden’s appointees, along with some members predating both presidents, Dimond said.
“They say it was for financial decisions, all we can do is look at the events as they occurred, and read between the lines and draw our own conclusions from that,” Dimond said.
The Kennedy Center said in a statement last week to Deadline that “the cancellation of the Finn tour was a purely financial decision.”
“She told me there is ZERO cash on hand. And ZERO in reserves. And the deferred maintenance is a crisis,” said Trump-selected Kennedy Center interim Executive Director Richard Grenell in an X post last week, referring to Kennedy Center CFO Stacey Johnson.
The Center only uses federal funds to maintain the building and surrounding environment — not programming, according to a 2025 budget justification report. Beleaguered by debt and maintenance overruns since as early as 1977, the Kennedy Center’s budget shows a nearly 50 percent increase between 2024 and 2025 in funds for “minor repair and replacement” to a sum of $445,000 to “reduce the increased backlog of minor repair and replacement projects.”
The cancellation of “Finn” was one of many at the Center that struck a nerve among District theater groups and national labor organizations, revealing a groundswell of support for the defunct performances. The Actors’ Equity Association, a live theatre performer and stage manager’s union, said in a release last week that it’s “disturbing” to see Trump and the Center’s leadership deciding to “move so swiftly to suppress viewpoints they do not agree with.”
Dimond said with the support of these communities, he wants to do everything in his power to deliver the musical’s message to kids who need it.
“The way that this theater community has rallied around this has been truly overwhelming and inspiring,” Dimond said.
About 300 protesters gathered last week at Washington Circle to protest Trump’s election by his hand-picked board, which he selected after announcing his intention to stamp out “DRAG SHOWS” and “ANTI-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA” in a Truth Social post about the Center.
The executive director of the National Symphony Orchestra — which was scheduled to host the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, D.C.’s “A Peacock Among Pigeons” at the Center — said Wednesday that “program changes are common practice.” She said the Center canceled the performance for scheduling and financial reasons.
The Alfred Street Baptist Church, an African American Church in Alexandria Virginia, said in a statement Sunday that the group made the “difficult decision” to cancel its annual Christmas performance at Center, citing new leadership as their reason for the decision. The church has held annual performances at the Center since 2019.
“We believe that the new leadership’s opposition to the Kennedy Center’s long standing tradition of honoring across long-standing tradition of honoring artistic expression across all backgrounds is misaligned with our unwavering commission to proclaim and practice the transformative and redemptive love of Jesus, to pursue justice, to promote equality, to embrace the gift of diversity, and to care for all of creation,” the group’s statement read.
In addition to the canceled performances, at least three top Kennedy Center leaders have publicly announced resignations or reportedly left their posts.
Former Kennedy Center Artistic Advisor Renée Fleming resigned from her role on Feb. 12, following former Kennedy Center Board President David Rubenstein’s departure.
Some firings have been quieter, likely due to fear of reprisal, according to the Washington Post. The Center terminated its general counsel and the head of its public relations department, the Post reported Friday.
Rubenstein posted a statement on X thanking former President of the Board Deborah Rutter and the “Kennedy Center team” for “helping to make the center the beacon for the performing arts its founders intended.”
