March 7: Irish music at Clayton Opera House
Enjoy traditional Irish music and folk songs by Derek Warfield and The Young Wolfe Tones. Tickets are available on the Clayton Opera House's website and range from $25 to $35.
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Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Yahoo
Republicans propose naming Kennedy Center Opera House after Melania Trump
The Kennedy Center's Opera House could soon be called the 'First Lady Melania Trump Opera House.' A Republican proposal would rename the second-largest theater in the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts after the first lady, if legislation considered Tuesday by the House Appropriations Committee becomes law. The first lady, following tradition, is an honorary chair of the Kennedy Center board. A spokesperson for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) proposed the amendment during a committee markup of the bill funding the Interior Department, the Environmental Protection Agency and related agencies for fiscal 2026. The committee adopted the measure by a vote of 33-25. Since its opening in 1971, a bipartisan tone has predominated at the Kennedy Center, where crowds have often drawn in arts patrons from across the political spectrum. Its board of trustees members were generally split between Republicans and Democrats, until February when President Donald Trump fired board members who had been appointed by President Joe Biden and replaced them with his own. The trustees then voted him in as president of the Kennedy Center board. If it were to become law, the amendment would mark a further blurring of the center and the Trump administration. Four large portraits of the first and second couples now hang in the Hall of Nations. During the hearing, Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) said Republicans had 'snuck in, I think, something that is slightly divisive, which is renaming one section of the Kennedy Center after the family member of this administration.' The bill under consideration would provide $37 million in appropriations to the Kennedy Center, a 17 percent decrease from last year and in line with the president's budget proposal. But Pingree also pointed to the $250 million appropriated in the recent One Big Beautiful Bill Act to the center. 'The Republicans have now given the president six times the normal amount of money to run the Kennedy Center, carte blanche over who will be on the board, and how different parts of the Kennedy Center — perhaps the whole Kennedy Center itself — will be named, and this amendment confirms that,' Pingree said. The center's three major stages — the Eisenhower Theater, the Opera House and the Concert Hall — have never previously been renamed. 'This is an excellent way to recognize [Melania Trump's] support and commitment to promoting the arts, and I would encourage members to vote for this Republican en bloc amendment,' said Simpson, chairman of the Appropriations subcommittee on interior, environment and related agencies. The Opera House seats 2,364 patrons and may be the center's most prominent space. It hosts the annual Kennedy Center Honors, the arts institution's marquee event. Celebrities pack into the seats alongside senators, congresspeople and — most notably — the first and second families. The ceremony takes place after a weekend of events, including a dinner at the State Department and a meeting with the president at the White House. Trump broke tradition during his first presidential term by pulling out of the Honors weekend 'to allow the honorees to celebrate without any political distraction,' after Norman Lear, one of the honorees, said he would boycott the White House portion. The Opera House would be far from the first venue to be adorned with the Trump name, a distinction that his skyscrapers, golf clubs and other businesses share. It is not the first such proposal. In late May, Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) proposed the halting of funding to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority unless its name was changed to Washington Metropolitan Authority for Greater Access (i.e. WMAGA) and unless Metrorail (the D.C. area's subway system) was renamed the 'Trump Train.' It was one of many such ideas from House Republicans, as The Washington Post reported in June. Others include carving Trump's face into Mount Rushmore, putting his face on U.S. currency, renaming Washington Dulles International Airport after him and making his birthday a national holiday. 'It is unprecedented and to be honest with you, it's completely wild,' John White, professor emeritus of politics at Catholic University, told The Post at the time. 'History shows that most things are named after presidents after they have either long left office or been deceased.' Brianna Tucker contributed to this report.
New York Times
16 hours ago
- New York Times
Republicans Look to Rename Kennedy Center Opera House after Melania Trump
Republican lawmakers moved on Tuesday to rename the Opera House at the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington after the first lady, Melania Trump. The proposal was introduced by Republican members of the House Appropriations Committee as part of a spending bill for the Department of the Interior, environment and related agencies. The legislation would require approval from the full House. Mr. Trump, who did not attend the annual Kennedy Center Honors awards ceremony during his first term, has shown fervent interest in the performing arts center in his second, naming himself its chairman shortly after returning to office. He purged the Kennedy Center board of Biden appointees, and ousted both the center's longtime president, Deborah F. Rutter, and its chairman, David M. Rubenstein. By tradition, the first lady serves as the honorary chair of the performing arts center. Mrs. Trump recently attended a performance of 'Les Miserables' at the center with the president. The amendment, which contained additional measures related to the environment, passed 33-25 in a largely party line vote. Representative Mike Simpson, a Republican from Idaho and chairman of the House Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, introduced the amendment. Mr. Simpson said in a statement after the vote that naming the theater after Mrs. Trump 'is an excellent way to recognize her appreciation for the arts.' Representative Chellie Pingree of Maine, the ranking Democrat on the House subcommittee, opposed the amendment. 'It's just another assault in this whole lineup of the president taking control of the Kennedy Center,' Ms. Pingree said in a phone interview. 'It seems outrageous to me. There's no public consensus around this. It also leads me to wonder, does the president plan to rename the whole Kennedy Center after himself?' The Opera House is the second largest theater in the Kennedy Center, according to the center's website, with more than 2,300 seats. The venue hosts the Kennedy Center Honors, the nation's highest annual awards recognizing lifetime contributions to the arts. Performing arts centers typically grant naming rights in response to large gifts, sometimes of $100 million or more, so the new name could limit the center's fund-raising opportunities. (Another venue at the center is named after Dwight D. Eisenhower.) Mr. Trump has taken the position that the programming at the Kennedy Center needs to be overhauled. Last February, in a social media post about the center's programming, he proclaimed: 'NO MORE DRAG SHOWS, OR OTHER ANTI-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA — ONLY THE BEST.' In June, when Mr. and Mrs. Trump attended the opening night performance of 'Les Misérables,' drag queens showed up in protest. Later that month, five Democratic senators hosted a gay pride concert at one of the theaters in the center. Earlier this month, Mr. Trump signed the legislation Republicans named the One Big Beautiful Bill. Its sweeping spending provisions and tax cuts included allocating over $250 million to the Kennedy Center, roughly six times the amount it usually receives from the government.
Fox News
18 hours ago
- Fox News
House Republicans approve renaming the Kennedy Center Opera House after Melania Trump
House Republicans are proposing to rename the Kennedy Center's Opera House after first lady Melania Trump. On Tuesday, House Republicans on the Appropriations Committee approved an amendment in a 33-25 vote on an annual spending bill that would rename the opera house at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts the "First Lady Melania Trump Opera House." Trump serves as the honorary chairman of the board of trustees at the Kennedy Center. "This is an excellent way to recognize her support and commitment to promoting the arts," said Rep. Michael Simpson-R-Id. Fox News Digital has reached out to The Kennedy Center and the White House. The move came months after President Trump appointed himself as chairman of the Kennedy Center and fired multiple board members. At the time, he said that he and then-chair David Rubenstein "do not share [the same] Vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture," according to the announcement on Truth Social. "Just last year, the Kennedy Center featured Drag Shows specifically targeting our youth — THIS WILL STOP," Trump wrote in the post. The opera house in the Kennedy Center is the second-largest theater in the center, with 2,347 seats. "Over the years, the Opera House has welcomed dozens of the world's great dance and opera companies and has hosted some of the most important artistic events of the last quarter-century," the center's website states. The opera house also serves as the site for the annual Kennedy Center Honors, the nation's highest award for lifetime achievement in the arts.
