Lost in the kerfuffle over the Democrats’ contemptible behavior during President Donald Trump’s address to Congress was a further example of the Left’s disconnect and disregard for the average American.
Producers of the musical “Hamilton” canceled plans to bring the show to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington next year. Why? To protest Trump taking over the board.
The Backstory
Based on the life of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, the musical from the unquestionably gifted Lin-Manuel Miranda became an instant American musical theater classic when it burst onto Broadway in 2015. Blending hip-hop, R&B, pop, and good old-fashioned show tunes, and recasting America’s Founders in all manner of races and creeds, “Hamilton” celebrates America’s origin story in a vibrant, impactful way.
So far, so good. However, weeks after the 2016 election, the Broadway cast chose to dress down Vice President-elect Mike Pence when he came to enjoy the show. Partisan politics trumped performing. The message heard by Trump voters? You are not welcome at “Hamilton.”
Heck, given his views on immigration, Alexander Hamilton himself would not be welcomed.
‘Hamilton’ Runs From the Kennedy Center
You’d think by now “Hamilton’s” producers would be over it. After all, Trump’s 2024 overwhelming victory came with a broad coalition as racially and ethnically diverse as the “Hamilton” cast. Plus, “Hamilton’s” 2026 appearance was to be part of the nation’s 250th anniversary celebration. In other words, the run was about “We the People” honoring the Founding Fathers. Not the Orange Man.
Yes, Trump wants to revive the Kennedy Center, which the federal government maintains. The venue was deep in the red and deep into the woke. Drag queen workshops for District of Columbia area teens? “Oh God, a Show About Abortion”? Really? The president replaced the board and made Ric Grenell interim executive director.
“We just want an arts center that celebrates the arts,” Grenell told Fox News Thursday, “We want commonsense art.” At the Conservative Political Action Conference Grenell said, “We have to do the big productions that the masses and the public want to see, we want to have really good programming.”
“Hamilton” is perfectly consistent with that vision.
However, Miranda and company decided to take their period costumes and run off stage left.
“This latest action by Trump means it’s not the Kennedy Center as we knew it,” Miranda told The New York Times. “The Kennedy Center was not created in this spirit, and we’re not going to be a part of it while it is the Trump Kennedy Center.”
Producer Jeffrey Seller claimed the “purge” of staff and events “flies in the face of everything a national cultural center represents.”
Except it can’t be a national cultural center if it does not align with the values of the nation.
He insisted the Kennedy Center was “never about politics.” Except in 2017 when the Kennedy Center board sat on its well-manicured hands when several of those given Kennedy Center Honors said they’d boycott the event if Trump hosted, as was tradition.
Noting “Hamilton” appeared at the Kennedy Center during Trump’s first term, Seller said, “We are not acting against his administration, but against the partisan policies of the Kennedy Center as a result of his recent takeover.”
What partisan policies? Grenell insists the only shows cut thus far were because the show itself pulled out or sales were weak.
Seller added he canceled now out of fear the new leadership would cancel the production. However, according to Grenell, they never bothered to ask if it would be.
Seller and [Manuel] first went to The New York Times before they came to the Kennedy Center with their announcement that they can’t be in the same room with Republicans.
This is a publicity stunt that will backfire.
The arts are for everyone—not just for the people who Lin likes and agrees with.
Who’s Getting Hurt?
First, the irony. “Hamilton’s” punishing theatergoers in a city that went 90% for Kamala Harris. And they call Miranda a genius?
Second, MAGA voters angered at the Pence slight since 2016 would now be more willing to check “Hamilton” out. Bailing denies the show a potential new audience and reaffirms the belief supporters of Trump are not welcome. Producers are hurting themselves.
Third, they are hurting what they profess to love: the performing arts.
They have again put their own partisan politics ahead of performing for the people. They are saying theater—in particular, the Kennedy Center—must be in the hands of those of a singular political persuasion and vision for art, that the venue must be renamed The Kennedy Center for the Liberal Performers and Creators. What a shot to the heart of the spirit of theater. (Or abdomen, in Hamilton’s case.)
Sure. Miranda has the right to stage his show anywhere he wants. No problem. Do a revival of “1776” in its place. Catchier songs, more accurate history, happier ending. Plus, you can cast it with performers dying to give their all to an audience every night regardless of who they voted for, rather than performers more eager to check our party affiliation at the door than our ticket.
Theater isn’t about the board. It’s about what happens on the boards and the audience there to experience it. This is a history lesson “Hamilton’s” creator has forgotten.
