Authoritarian is as authoritarian does. Weeks ago it was rumored that different key cast members, and members of the ensemble of Les Miserables, would boycott the performance when and if Donald Trump showed up. It is June 11 and Trump has indeed shown up for the eight o’clock curtain. Between ten and twelve performers are reportedly going to sit out tonight’s performance and understudies will take their roles. And it won’t end there. Ric Grenell, now appointed Interim Director of the Kennedy Center, plans to seek retribution in the form of a blacklist.
Grenell, the center’s interim director, said that he was not aware of the alleged boycott in a statement to CNN, but added that the center will “no longer fund intolerance.”
“Any performer who isn’t professional enough to perform for patrons of all backgrounds, regardless of political affiliation, won’t be welcomed,” Grenell said.
“In fact, we think it would be important to out those vapid and intolerant artists to ensure producers know who they shouldn’t hire – and that the public knows which shows have political litmus tests to sit in the audience. The Kennedy Center wants to be a place where people of all political stripes sit next to each other.”
After Trump entered office in January, the Kennedy Center canceled performances including the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, D.C. and children’s musical “Finn,” which has LGBT+ themes. The center claimed the cancellations were due to financial and scheduling concerns, the Associated Press reported at the time.
And whatever happens tonight, there’s a group of drag performers who intend to spice things up, although they’ve made it very clear that whatever they do will be peaceful.
A group of drag stars is expected to be at Wednesday night’s performance of Les Misérables at the John F. Kennedy Center where they plan to protest President Trump and Vice President Vance’s scheduled attendance.
It will be the president’s first show at the historic Washington, D.C. venue since he canned the board and took control, firing previous leadership and installing himself as chairman.
Trump, 78, ignited fury over his decision to take the reigns of the Kennedy Center, as he pledged to scrap “woke” programming aligned with what he called leftist ideology. On social media, the president wrote there would be “NO MORE DRAG SHOWS, OR OTHER ANTI-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA.”
So when some of the ticket holders for Wednesday night’s show found out that Trump, Vance and their wives, Melania and Usha, would be in attendance, they donated their tickets, according to Qommittee, a network of drag performers, fans and allies, as reported by Houston Public Media.
Vagenesis, one of the four to six performers planning to attend, told NPR she is protesting in response to the president’s pledge to put a stop to drag shows at the center.
“Theater is supposed to be a place of community, a place of storytelling, a place of celebration, joy, catharsis and it should be open and available to all,” Vagenesis said.
Tonight’s performance will be truly Shakespearean, featuring as it will a play within a play. Trump will see the performance on stage, and off stage drag performers and boycotting actors will make their views known. And Ric Grenell can play Joe McCarthy to his heart’s content. My take on that, is that being on Grenell’s blacklist will be seen as a badge of honor and treated accordingly.
For a criminal thief, who has stolen the office once again, to attend a play celebrating a peasant revolt, while he destroys our democracy, is rich indeed. Go ahead IRONY…fly your freak flag!