The hit Broadway musical “Hamilton” has canceled its eight-week run in 2026 on the Kennedy Middle amid President Donald Trump’s takeover of the nationwide performing arts middle.
Jeffrey Vendor, the producer of “Hamilton,” wrote on the play’s official Instagram that political debate and disagreement are “vital expressions of democracy,” however that the Kennedy Middle needs to be “protected from politics.”
“However, in recent weeks we have sadly seen decades of Kennedy Center neutrality be destroyed,” Vendor wrote. “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.”
The Tony Award-winning play about Alexander Hamilton was scheduled to return to the D.C. venue from March 3 by means of April 26, 2026.
When requested for remark, the Kennedy Middle directed HuffPost to a submit from Richard Grenell, the Trump-appointed president of the Kennedy Middle. Grenell wrote on X that Vendor and Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator of “Hamilton,” “can’t be in the same room with Republicans.” He additionally referred to as the transfer a “publicity stunt that will backfire.”
Miranda’s representatives declined to touch upon Grenell’s accusation, however in a separate remark, Miranda mentioned the Kennedy Middle has “long been an artistic center historically devoid of a political point of view.”
“At its heart, Hamilton celebrates American diversity,” Miranda mentioned. “The recent shift in the Kennedy Center’s ideology and board leadership has made it untenable for a production like Hamilton to celebrate and be celebrated there today.”
Picture by Craig Hudson for The Washington Submit by way of Getty Photos
In February, Trump made himself chairman of the Kennedy Middle and instantly started his overhaul. He fired the middle’s long-term president Deborah Rutter, changing her with Grenell, a Trump loyalist. In whole, Trump fired 18 board members that have been appointed by former President Joe Biden. Trump’s actions spurred others to resign from the board, together with writer-producer Shonda Rimes.
In Vendor’s assertion, he wrote that the present “cannot, in good conscience, participate and be a part of this new culture that is being imposed on the Kennedy Center.”
“’Hamilton’ was proudly performed at the Kennedy Center in 2018 during the first Trump administration,” Vendor wrote. “We are not acting against his administration, but against the partisan policies of the Kennedy Center as a result of his recent takeover.”
He continued, saying the cancellation can also be a “business decision” as a result of the Kennedy Middle can’t be trusted to uphold contracts and former agreements. Vendor is seemingly referring to the Kennedy Middle’s current choice to cancel a deliberate tour of “Finn,” a kids’s musical that may be interpreted as a LGBTQ+ metaphor.
“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,” Vendor wrote. “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.”
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Since Trump’s takeover, a number of artists have canceled their exhibits on the Kennedy Middle, together with Issa Rae, Rhiannon Giddens and the band Low Minimize Connie.
Trump has lengthy been crucial of the performing arts middle, particularly its drag exhibits.
“Just last year, the Kennedy Center featured Drag Shows specifically targeting our youth — THIS WILL STOP,” Trump mentioned on Reality Social in February. “The Kennedy Center is an American Jewel, and must reflect the brightest STARS on its stage from all across our Nation. For the Kennedy Center, THE BEST IS YET TO COME!”
