Kennedy Center staff describe climate of fear as events drop from calendar

Washington Post

14-02-2025

The fallout from President Donald Trump's takeover of the Kennedy Center's board and purge of its leadership continued Thursday, as the center's staff worried about the storied arts institution and shows began to disappear from its lineup.
Comedian, actress and Hollywood creator Issa Rae said on Instagram that she was pulling her sold-out show, 'An Evening With Issa Rae,' from the upcoming slate of programming, becoming the first major artist to publicly cancel an upcoming show at the Kennedy Center.
'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 wrote, adding that tickets will be refunded.
The cancellation comes the day after the new board of trustees installed Trump as its new chair, while also voting to terminate Deborah Rutter as president and making former acting director of national intelligence Richard Grenell interim president.
After the shake-up, musician Ben Folds and opera singer Renée Fleming said they were stepping down as artistic advisers with the center, as did the treasurer of its board of trustees, TV producer Shonda Rhimes.
The center terminated its general counsel and the head of its public relations department, according to people with close knowledge of the Kennedy Center who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they feared reprisal. The center's new public relations staff did not immediately respond to questions about firings or show cancellations.
Also Thursday, David Rubenstein, the deposed chair of the center's board of trustees, broke his silence with a statement posted on social media praising the center. It did not mention his successor.
'I am sorry that I could not be in Washington yesterday with Deborah Rutter and all of you,' Rubenstein said. He praised Rutter and the Kennedy Center staff for 'supporting the Kennedy Center over many years and through a number of difficult times' and making it 'the beacon for the performing arts its founders intended.'
'President Kennedy would be proud of your selfless work, your long hours, your commitment to excellence, and your dedication to the performing arts,' he said.
Rubenstein, originally appointed by President George W. Bush, was recently terminated along with every Biden-appointed board member.
Meanwhile, other shows connected with the Kennedy Center have been canceled or scrubbed from its website.
In 2023, the center commissioned 'Finn,' a kids' musical about a shark that finds he fits in more with smaller fish than his fellow predators. A creator of the show said it could be read as a metaphor for LGBTQ+ experience, though there is nothing in the musical explicitly about the community.
'We just really wanted to write a show that we wish we had 20 years ago,' said Michael Kooman, who created the show with Chris Nee and Christopher Dimond. 'A show that would make growing up a little bit easier for someone who feels like they're different.'
During a limited roughly four-week run, it received rave reviews, frequently sold out and turned a profit, Kooman said. The musical was about to embark on a two-year tour, which was produced by the Kennedy Center. On Wednesday, before the board meeting, the 'Finn' creative team received a phone call from the center telling them the tour was canceled because 'the financials weren't working out,' Kooman said.
'It's hard to ignore the circumstances in which the cancellation of the tour is happening,' he added.
In a statement, the union Actors' Equity Association said they were 'outraged' at the cancellation. 'It is disturbing to see the new leadership of this institution move so swiftly to suppress viewpoints they do not agree with,' they wrote, adding the union intends to enforce its contracts with the center.
'A Peacock Among Pigeons,' an NSO concert billed as a 'celebration of love, diversity, and the vibrant spirit of the LGBTQ+ community' and scheduled to take place during World Pride 2025, has been removed from the website. The Washington Post has not been able to confirm if it has been canceled.
Trump's unprecedented takeover has deeply rattled the Kennedy Center's staff and leaders across the cultural sector. The institution, billed as the nation's cultural center and a 'living' memorial to President John F. Kennedy, is historically nonpartisan, best known as a hub for stately classical performances, opera and theater. Its presidential appointees tend not to directly manage the roughly 2,000 events it runs for some 2 million visitors a year. Trump signaled he was interested in changing its programs, pointing to drag performances, which last year made up a tiny portion of its show calendar.
Several Kennedy Center staffers, who spoke with The Post on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal, described a week of chaos, fear and confusion under the new leadership.
Trump's comments 'collapsed all the nuance of what we do,' said one staffer, who described the work as more than a job or a passion. 'My identity is caught up in this place,' the staffer said. And now, 'I don't feel safe.'
A former staffer with knowledge of Trump's interactions with the center during his first term said he previously showed little interest in the arts institution.
'It's concerning he would want to exert this much power over a nonprofit,' the former staffer said. '... The people whose lives he's throwing into chaos aren't government employees. They're arts administrators.'
Some welcomed the changes. Marc Rotterman, a political commentator who lived in Washington for decades and worked in the Reagan administration, feels that over the past decade, the programming at the center has become prohibitively expensive and the offerings have become too reliant on Hollywood celebrities. He'd like to see more country artists, Southern rock and bluegrass and is hopeful the new regime can bring more of that programming to the center.
'It doesn't all have to be bow tie and chardonnay and cheese,' Rotterman said. 'Maybe the blue-collar crowd with a Budweiser could appear one in a while.'
A few blocks from the Kennedy Center, local advocacy organizations rallied dozens of residents for a transgender and queer dance party and protest in Washington Circle on Thursday evening.
Shuttles to the Kennedy Center were lined up and sitting empty at the nearby Foggy Bottom Metro stop just before 6:30 p.m.
Two drag performers, decked out in wigs and slimming dresses, stood out among a crowd bundled up for warmth during the blustery night. Organizers blared music as attendees swayed along and some held up signs, one which read: 'There is no art without drag.'
The White House officially released a full list of Trump's new appointees on Thursday. They are as follows:
Hau Chu contributed to this report.