The Kennedy Center has released a list detailing show cancellations and postponements over the past six months, revealing that more than 20 programs have been dropped since Donald Trump assumed leadership and installed his own team at the Washington, D.C., performing arts institution.
The release of this list appears to be an effort to clarify that cancellations have primarily been due to financial issues, such as low ticket sales, or decisions made by the artists themselves.
For example, the producers of Hamilton announced this week that they were canceling a scheduled 2026 run in protest of Trump’s takeover last month.
“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,” said Roma Daravi, Vice President of Public Relations at the Kennedy Center.
“In fact, the only shows under the Kennedy Center umbrella that we have canceled since February 12th were due to lack of sales or artist availability.”
Trump announced on February 12 that he had been elected as chairman of the Kennedy Center board, ousting David Rubenstein.
In addition, he removed Joe Biden’s appointees from the board, despite the center’s long-standing tradition of bipartisan membership. Trump then appointed Ric Grenell as president, replacing Deborah Rutter.
In the immediate aftermath, several artists withdrew from Kennedy Center events, including Issa Rae, while Ben Folds and Renée Fleming stepped down as advisers.
Kennedy CenterAccording to the Kennedy Center’s list, 15 programs were canceled due to decisions by the artists, artist availability, or producers. Four shows were dropped because of low ticket sales or financial reasons, while two were postponed.
One notable cancellation was Jonathan Spector’s Eureka Day, a play about a private school dealing with a mumps outbreak as parents and administrators navigate the anti-vaccination movement. It was listed as being canceled by the producer for “financial reasons.”
Spector’s dark comedy had previously enjoyed a successful Broadway run at the Manhattan Theatre Club, where it was extended twice before closing on February 16. The play was scheduled to transfer to the Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theater from March 7-22.
The D.C. cast had even been announced on February 11—just one day before Trump’s takeover. However, less than two weeks later, the Manhattan Theatre Club announced that the transfer would not move forward “due to financial circumstances.”
One show missing from the Kennedy Center’s official cancellation list was Finn, a children’s musical that had been slated for an upcoming tour. The center has described its cancellation as a financial decision made before Trump’s takeover.
However, Finn creators Chris Nee, Michael Kooman, and Christopher Dimond publicly announced on February 13 that the show had been scrapped. They stated that they had been informed of the decision on February 12.
In response, Stars in the House creators Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley Jackson, along with Nee, Kooman, and Dimond, are planning a one-night-only livestream performance of the show at New York’s Town Hall on March 17.
Meanwhile, the International Pride Orchestra revealed that the Kennedy Center had reversed plans to hold a Pride Celebration Concert on June 4, which was supposed to feature LGBTQ+ artists, including drag performers.
Trump, in taking control of the Kennedy Center, had specifically criticized “drag shows targeting our youth.”
The Kennedy Center’s list does include the cancellation of NSO: A Peacock Among Pigeons for “financial reasons.” The event, based on a children’s book, had been scheduled as part of the Pride celebrations and was intended to highlight works by LGBTQ+ artists.