Lin-Manuel Miranda's smash-hit musical Hamilton has cancelled a planned 2026 run at the Kennedy Center, the latest in a slew of programming changes after President Donald Trump took over as chairman of the Washington, D.C. theatre's board February 12. The limited engagement, which would have been the musical's third at the Kennedy Center, was scheduled to be part of a celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
鈥淭his latest action by Trump means it鈥檚 not the Kennedy Center as we knew it,鈥� Miranda鈥攁 2018 Kennedy Center Honoree鈥攁nd Hamilton lead producer Jeffrey Seller. 鈥淭he Kennedy Center was not created in this spirit, and we鈥檙e not going to be a part of it while it is the Trump Kennedy Center. We鈥檙e just not going to be part of it.鈥�
In a follow-up statement to 半岛体育, Seller also wrote: "Hamilton was proudly performed at the Kennedy Center in 2018 during the first Trump administration. We are not acting against his administration, but against the partisan policies of the Kennedy Center as a result of his recent takeover." Seller also characterized the cancellation as a preemptive business decision: "Hamilton is a large and global production, and it would simply be financially and personally devastating to the hundreds of employees of Hamilton if the new leadership of the Kennedy Center suddenly cancelled or re-negotiated our engagement. The actions of the new Chairman of the Board in recent weeks demonstrate that contracts and previous agreements simply cannot be trusted."
Hamilton was not the only show to cancel a Kennedy Center engagement on Wednesday. Tony-nominated actor Melissa Errico announced that she would move her World War I-themed concert, , to Schlesinger Concert Hall in Alexandria, Virginia, because of concerns over seating capacity. She also told the New York Times: "I鈥檓 glad at how it turned out. I wanted to do a show that everyone could attend鈥攍eft, right and center.鈥�
When reached for a comment, Errico told 半岛体育: 鈥淓very time you perform you walk a tightrope, and the tightrope has never been tighter. And the audience more expectant. The American experience鈥攍ike the First World War and the American Songbook鈥攂elongs to us all. Maybe the greatest experience of my performing life was doing Sunday In The Park With George at the Kennedy Center with Raul Esparza, in the presence of Mr. Stephen Sondheim. That show seems to be about the making of a painting, and it is, but it鈥檚 also a celebration of pluralism and co-existence. That鈥檚 what makes 鈥楽unday鈥� such a great, inspiring song鈥攊t鈥檚 about nothing more than people sharing a park on a Sunday afternoon, but that 鈥榥othing more鈥� is everything plus, a hymn to the pluralism and co-existence that life in a democracy demands.鈥�
As previously reported, recent changes to Kennedy Center programming have also included cancellations of: Manhattan Theatre Club's Eureka Day, an event featuring the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, D.C. and the National Symphony Orchestra, and a planned tour of the children's musical Finn. A number of artists have also cut ties with The Kennedy Center after Trump fired the organization's prior leadership鈥攁mong them comedian Issa Rae, rock band Low Cut Connie, and Grammy winner Rhiannon Giddens. In addition, artistic advisors Ren茅e Fleming, Ben Folds, and Shonda Rhimes stepped down from their positions within the organization.
In a statement on social media, Kennedy Center's new president, the cancellation of Hamilton, saying that Miranda "is intolerant of people who don鈥檛 agree with him politically. It鈥檚 clear he and Sellers don鈥檛 want Republicans going to their shows."
Trump has previously said that he was planning on eliminating drag shows and "woke" art at the Kennedy Center鈥攅ven though he also admitted to never having seen a show at the institution. The board of the Kennedy Center, as well as its new president, are now made up entirely of Trump appointees.
In response, D.C. drag artists and community organizers are organizing a "," scheduled for March 8. The collective is calling for the Kennedy Center Board to "reinstate queer programming," for an "end to congressional attempts at criminalizing gender non-conformity," and for "protection of D.C. home rule."
Seller's full statement is below:
鈥淧olitical disagreement and debate are vital expressions of democracy. These basic concepts of freedom are at the very heart of Hamilton. However, some institutions are sacred and should be protected from politics. The Kennedy Center is one such institution.锘�
The Kennedy Center was founded over 50 years ago with a sincere bipartisan spirit. Indeed, it was founded during the administration of President Dwight Eisenhower, named after President John F. Kennedy, and opened in 1971 under the administration of Richard M. Nixon. The Kennedy Center was meant to be for all Americans, a place where we could all come together in celebration of the arts. Politics have never affected the presentation of thousands of shows and the display of extraordinary visual arts.
However, in recent weeks we have sadly seen decades of Kennedy Center neutrality be destroyed. The recent purge by the Trump Administration of both professional staff and performing arts events at or originally produced by the Kennedy Center flies in the face of everything this national cultural center represents. This spirit of nonpartisanship ended on February 7, 2025, with the firing of Kennedy Center President Deborah Rutter, the Chairman of the Board David Rubenstein, numerous other Kennedy Center board members, and the cancellation of important programming. These actions bring a new spirit of partisanship to the national treasure that is the Kennedy Center.
Given these recent actions, our show simply cannot, in good conscience, participate and be a part of this new culture that is being imposed on the Kennedy Center. Therefore, we have cancelled the third engagement of Hamilton at the Kennedy Center, originally scheduled for March 3-April 26, 2026.
Hamilton was proudly performed at the Kennedy Center in 2018 during the first Trump administration. We are not acting against his administration, but against the partisan policies of the Kennedy Center as a result of his recent takeover.
Our cancellation is also a business decision. Hamilton is a large and global production, and it would simply be financially and personally devastating to the hundreds of employees of Hamilton if the new leadership of the Kennedy Center suddenly cancelled or re-negotiated our engagement. The actions of the new Chairman of the Board in recent weeks demonstrate that contracts and previous agreements simply cannot be trusted. This is sad, because basic integrity and the rule of law have long been great American principles that help serve as a foundation for our Nation.
I have personally loved the Kennedy Center since touring it as a seventh grader in 1977 along with the Lincoln Memorial and the Jefferson Memorial. I watched the first Kennedy Center Honors in 1978. Regardless of the political climate, I have always felt at home at The Kennedy Center, and I am grateful for every person who has spent the last 50 years making it a beacon of nonpartisanship and celebration. But we cannot presently support an institution that has been forced by external forces to betray its mission as a national cultural center that fosters the free expression of art in The United States of America.鈥�
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