The post Kennedy Center Confirms Cancellation of Over 20 Shows Following Trump Takeover appeared first on Consequence.
It is been nearly a month since Donald Trump orchestrated a takeover of the Kennedy Center and elected himself chairman of its Board of Trustees. Since then, more than 20 shows scheduled at the Washington, DC-based venue have been canceled or postponed.
The Kennedy Center shared a list of impacted events late this week, along with 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. He continued, “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 an explanation for why it was canceled, with the majority reading “Canceled by artist,” “Canceled due to low ticket sales,” or “Canceled for financial reasons.”
Looking deeper, it is clear that the Kennedy Center’s changes are political in nature. Many of the artists who have distanced themselves from the organization have done so in protest, including Ben Folds, who resigned from an advisory position last month, and the cancellation of a run of Hamilton, whose producers stated that they “cannot presently support” the organization.
Furthermore, Deadline has reported that several of the shows canceled or postponed for “financial reasons” had themes that contradicted Trump’s conservative vision for American culture, such as the vaccine-themed play Eureka Day and the National Symphony Orchestra’s LGBTQ-celebrating adaptation of the story A Peacock Among Pigeons.
Meanwhile, the Kennedy Center still has events scheduled, including a reported performance by the J6 Prison Choir, which is made up of men who were previously imprisoned for their involvement in the January 6th attack on the United States Capitol.
