Thanks to the giant firehose of information perpetually spewing forth from every direction these days, the best I can say, anymore, is that I know a little about a lot, and a lot about very little.
But recently, I found myself down a rabbit hole, and I remembered how much I like it down there. It’s fun to focus. To really zoom in. Learning a lot about something little was a refreshing reversal of my typical info-gathering experience.
When I say “something little,” I mean that in relative terms. With all the tumult at home and abroad – much of it brought on by the new Trump administration – there are rabbit holes a’plenty to be plumbed. But today I will leave the more serious stuff – Ukraine, DOGE, tariffs, etc. – to better brains.
Because I’ve been thinking (and learning) about the Kennedy Center.
Ever since I heard, last month, that Trump had let most of its board members go, installed a new board of loyalists, and appointed himself Chairman, I’ve been fascinated by this turn of events. And by fascinated, I mean horrified.
Now don’t go accusing me of having “TDS.” I am not deranged, nor do I harbor hatred in my heart for the 47th president. I know many people who do, and trust me, they’re in a whole different headspace. For instance, they don’t think Trump is funny. Me? Trump makes me laugh. A lot. Am I worried about Trump? Absolutely. But hatred? I’m guided by this weird, ancient religion that forbids it.
So now that we’ve cleared that up, I thought it was absurd – maybe even obscene – when I heard Trump had taken over the Kennedy Center. It felt like some kind of desecration.
You see, the Kennedy Center, along with being our nation’s cultural crown jewel, has great sentimental value for me personally. Every holiday season, for as long as I can remember, my dad and I watched the Kennedy Center Honors together. Even after I’d grown up and moved away, it was a special tradition for us, since I was always home at Christmas. Like me, Dad was a music buff, a choir singer, and an amateur theatre performer. We shared those loves, and we shared a love of the Kennedy Center Honors. Our tradition continued until my father died, almost six years ago.
Trump, on the other hand, bucked tradition during his first term and refused to attend the Kennedy Center Honors. All the presidents that came before him attended, but not Donald Trump. Apparently, some of the artists tapped for honors had criticized Trump publicly, so he boycotted the event. Until then, the Honors had always had a bipartisan vibe. Sure, Republican presidents were sometimes tweaked in the monologues – we all know the arts lean left – but they sat there graciously, taking it with good humor, and beaming at the wondrous performances, like everybody else. It was a beautiful demonstration of American spirit and unity.
I know this because I watched the Kennedy Center Honors with my Republican father. Every. Single. Year.
But now, that’s all changing. This man, who was too thin skinned to attend our nation’s premier arts tribute while he was president the first time around – and who says he hasn’t been to a show at the center in years – has decided to take over the joint. And he’s ousted all the board members appointed by Democrats – their terms are supposed to last 6 years – and replaced them with his own people, folks like Laura Ingraham, Susie Wiles, Usha Vance, and Lee Greenwood. The board of the Kennedy Center – historically equal parts Republican and Democrat, by design – is now all Republican. You might even say it’s full MAGA.
But why? Why Trump’s newfound interest in an institution he has all but shunned in the past?
As far as I can tell, Trump thinks the Kennedy Center – like the rest of America – needs to be made great again. To be more specific, he thinks it needs to be de-woked. (Un-woked? Un-woken? Put to sleep?)
In a statement last month to The Wall Street Journal, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “The Kennedy Center learned the hard way that if you go woke, you will go broke.” Interim Director Ric Grenell later confirmed that the center was in dire financial straits.
At a recent Kennedy Center board meeting, Chairman Trump discussed his love of musicals – especially big 80s hits like Phantom of the Opera, Cats, and Les Miserables – and made it clear that he’d like the center to focus on presenting “non-woke” musicals like those.
This left me scratching my head and wondering if Trump – or anybody on his board – has ever understood the musicals they love. (I love them, too, by the way!)
To be blunt, trying to find good musical theatre that’s not “woke” is like trying to have a basketball league without any tall Black men. (My husband said I probably shouldn’t include that sentence, but I think we’re all grownups here. Plus, it’s March Madness!)
I started wondering just how radically “woke” the Kennedy Center really is – or has been in recent years. My research revealed that the past two seasons have featured the following musicals: Guys & Dolls; Sunset Boulevard; Kiss of the Spider Woman; Les Miz; 1776; The Lion King; Moulin Rouge; Wicked; Tick, Tick, BOOM!; Nine; Frozen; and Bye Bye Birdie.
Seriously?
You don’t even have to be a Broadway fan like me to know that’s some pretty standard fare. We are not talking about subversive, cutting edge theatre.
But is it “woke”? Well, only in the same way that almost ALL art is woke – in the best sense of that word. Challenging, provocative, empathetic, revelatory, cathartic!
In the interest of fair reporting, I should also acknowledge that there have been occasional drag shows at the Kennedy Center. Is drag an art form? That’s up to you to determine for yourself, dear reader. But if you’re a fan, it’s clear you’ll have to go elsewhere to enjoy it for the foreseeable future.
Several major artists who worked with the center – including Renee Fleming and Ben Folds – have ended their tenure in protest against the new leadership, and an upcoming production of Hamilton just canceled its run. “I never liked Hamilton very much,” said Trump, with characteristic petulance. (Too woke, one presumes.) There have been other cancellations, as well.
Along with the question of who will perform there now, is the question of who will be the future recipients of Kennedy Center Honors. Trump recently referred to past recipients – who range from Fred Astaire (1978) to Francis Ford Coppola (2024) – as “radical left lunatics,” and floated the idea of honoring figures like Andrea Bocelli, Paul Anka, and Sylvester Stallone, all of whom supported his presidential campaign. He said he wants to go “slightly more conservative” with future honorees. He’s even talking about hosting the show himself, calling himself “the king of ratings.”
Don’t get me wrong; the arts have always been political. It would be disingenuous to pretend otherwise. But in modern democracies, politicians have typically left artists alone and let them do their thing, even when that “thing” included critiquing those politicians. (Especially then.) It’s almost like a separation of church and state.
So as much as I love the Rocky movies, this new arrangement at the Kennedy Center – unprecedented in its long, illustrious history – just feels wrong to me.
I imagine my dad – a lover of the arts and lifelong Republican – is turning in his grave.
