UPDATE: On the Record: Andy Pharoah, President of the WNO Board of Trustees has said in a statement “The WNO has no plans to move out of the Kennedy Center and we are proud to be part of America’s cultural center, entering our 70th season.” The Washington National Opera (WNO) is considering leaving the Kennedy Center. In a report from {…}
The Kennedy Center ticket sales continue to plummet. According to a new article by The Washington Post, the performing arts center’s ticket sales for three of the largest performance spaces have reportedly fallen to their lowest level in years. The Post reported that it collected and analyzed ticket sales data from Sept. 3 to Oct. 19 and found that about {…}
The Kennedy Center continues to be a political institution showing preference for the right-wing party. Following the assassination of Charlie Kirk, the center “held a moment of silence to honor” the political commentator. The center added, “May he rest in peace.” The center did not offer a moment of silence for Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives Melissa Hortman, {…}
Despite declining ticket sales, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has started renovations. The center took to social media to show a new painting job and said, “President Trump has given the Kennedy Center $257 million to renovate and restore America’s Premiere Arts Institution to its glory. The work has begun! Today, we start refurbishing and re-painting the 200 {…}
President Donald Trump has announced that “in a week or so,” the Kennedy Center will be renamed. During his Oval Office press conference, Trump once again floated the idea of renaming the center after him. He said, “Some people refer to it as the Trump Kennedy Center, but we’re not prepared to do that quite yet.” he did, however, add, {…}
Former Artistic Advisor to the Kennedy Center, Ben Folds, is speaking out about the Kennedy Center and why he left. In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Folds compared the new regime led by Donald Trump to North Korea and said, “My friends that I left behind there, they we were in very different positions (than me). They’re kind of {…}
Donald Trump is reportedly considering renaming the entire Kennedy Center after himself. According to reports, Republican Representative Bob Onder of Missouri introduced a bill that sought to rename the Kennedy Center to the “Donald J. Trump Center for the Performing Arts.” The bill was introduced as the “Make Entertainment Great Again Act” and Onder described the President as “a patron of {…}
When opera goers head to the Kennedy Center Opera House this September, they may be walking into the newly named “First Lady Melania Trump Opera House” if Congress gets its way. According to CNN, House republicans included language that would rename the opera house in honor of the first lady in an amendment for a spending bill for the Interior {…}
Jason Moran is leaving the Kennedy Center as Artistic Director of Jazz. The composer and pianist too to social media and said, “From the Intro to the Finale. My first day on the job at The Kennedy Center was when Sonny Rollins was receiving his Kennedy Center Honor. In this photo he pulls me close, takes my hand and says {…}
Following an evening that saw President Trump booed and cheered at the Kennedy Center, Richard Grenell is taking to X to respond to the criticism. Grenell, the interim president of the Kennedy Center responded to the reports of Trump’s boos noting that CNN’s May 7 story regarding actors boycotting the June 11 performance was fake. He said, “Weeks ago, CNN {…}
President Trump was greeted at the Kennedy Center with boos from the audience before a performance of “Les Misérables.” As the President entered the theater, crowd members booed him. However, there were a vast number of his supporters who started cheering “USA USA.” As those chants slowly died out, the boos started up again. The evening also saw four drag {…}