Tag Archives: Kennedy Center

We Interrupt This “Program”

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Of the many inappropriate and often illegal decisions Donald Trump has made since his second election to the presidency, adding his name to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Art ranks as one of the worst, least justified by history, and one that blatantly violates a statute governing the name of the institution. Not that we would expect Trump to honor the laws of the United States that he generally regards as inconveniences unless they produce revenue for him and his family.

Trump couldn’t wait to add his name to the Center. To get the job done, he fired the managing board and replaced it with people who would do his bidding. An immediate response was that many artists decided they could no longer perform at the Center because doing so would be seen by many as endorsing or at least supporting Trump’s decision to rename the iconic arts center.

So, when Chuck Redd, a well-known local musician, cancelled the Christmas Eve performance he had led for some 20 years, the Trump-designated “President” of the Center, Richard Grenell, threatened Redd with a lawsuit, claiming damages of $1 million. https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/2025/12/27/trump-kennedy-center-chuck-redd/

According to Wikipedia, Mr. Grenell has never attended law school and the identity of the attorneys advising him has not been revealed. So we have the following situation: Grenell, a non-lawyer but Trump sycophant, has claimed Mr. Redd has damaged the Kennedy Center (I will never refer to it with Trump’s name) by engaging in “classic intolerance” and a “political stunt” that was “costly” to the ”non-profit Arts institution.”

In law school I paid pretty close attention in torts and contracts classes. I did not fail to note that there is no legal “cause of action” [grounds for suit] based on “class intolerance” and “political stuntery.” There is a cause of action for breach of contract, of course, and I suppose it’s possible  Mr. Redd signed a contract binding him to perform his holiday show. If so, he will have to deal with that. If he had bound himself that way, however, I would have thought Mr. Grenell, armed with the expert advice of the Trump-loyalist attorneys we have come associate with Mr. Trump’s finest legal work (Habba, Giuliani, Ellis, Halligan, Pirro, Chesebro, Eastman, Powell, Mitchell ….),  would have chosen his words more carefully.

The Washington Post reported that:

Roma Daravi, the center’s vice president of public relations, added in an emailed statement to The Post: “Any artist cancelling their show at the Trump Kennedy Center over political differences isn’t courageous or principled — they are selfish, intolerant, and have failed to meet the basic duty of a public artist: to perform for all people.”

Who is going to tell Ms. Daravi that slavery went out a very long time ago and that performing artists do not have a “basic duty … to perform for all people?”  Name calling is, of course, standard practice for Trump and his associates, which brings to mind that Trump may be the “real party in interest” on the plaintiff’s side of the threatened litigation. If so, he is subject to having his deposition taken. Wouldn’t that be a stitch? Chuck Redd takes the Trump deposition that Robert Mueller never did.

Of course, these threats also face the fact that the artistic community that normally works the Kennedy Center has from the outset made clear it will not support Trump’s perversion of the Center to his ego-maniacal purposes. As the Post reported, Mr. Redd is not alone in his refusal to accept Trump’s officious renaming of the Center:

The Kennedy Center has experienced a steep decline in ticket sales since Trump’s takeover of the institution compared with the same period last year …. Sales for orchestra, theater and dance performances are the worst they have been since the coronavirus pandemic, according to a Post analysis.

In the weeks after the February board changes, at least 20 productions were canceled or postponed, with names such as comedian and actor Issa Rae pulling out of planned performances at the center, and musical artist Ben Folds and opera singer Renée Fleming announcing they were stepping down as artistic advisers.

This is all very sad. My wife and I bought a subscription to multiple programs this year because we have a compelling need to see and support groups like American Ballet Theater and New York City Ballet both of which are slated to appear this season. Our subscription included Spamalot that we thought was pretty awful as entertainment. It’s worth noting that the audience for the show was so reduced that the Center moved the event to the smaller Eisenhower Theater. There were still many empty seats.

Trump’s determination to honor himself at every opportunity is not going to go well and once he is gone, all of these outrages will be reversed. It can’t happen too soon.

Strong At Every Position

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The title of this post is a phrase often used in sports journalism to describe a team that has highly rate players in every position on the starting team. It is a gross understatement as it applies to the American Ballet Theater dancers and others involved in producing Don Quixote last night at the Kennedy Center. The program can be seen here: https://bit.ly/3J4cFeI

The evening began when Devon Teuscher, principal dancer with ABT, emerged on stage to announce that the evening’s performance was dedicated to Ukraine and its fight for independence. She then invited “those who are able” to stand for the playing of the Ukraine national anthem. The audience roared its approval and virtually everyone was on their feet. A wonderful moment.

The performance that followed was extraordinary as well. From the spectacular stagecraft to the dancing itself, words almost fail. The ballet has three acts, the middle one being somewhat slow but with elegance that reminded me of scenes from Swan Lake. The first and third acts were just high-energy explosive displays of artistry, discipline and skill. The unison of the dancing groups was surreal.

The leading role of Kitri, the heroine whose affections are the subject of the main “contest” for her hand in marriage, was performed by Christine Shevchenko, a native of Ukraine, making the evening’s dedication even more poignant. Her extraordinary biography is here: https://bit.ly/3u2yvek and last night she lived up to her credits, dominating every scene in which she appeared. Phenomenal in every way. That is not to take away from the other dancers. Everyone was exceptional in their assigned parts.

The evening ended with another surprise. Shevchenko, having taken her bows with the others, ran off stage and returned with the Ukraine flag, producing another roar of approval from the standing crowd. This is the photo, hurriedly taken with a cell phone to capture the unexpected moment.

New York City Ballet company is coming to the Kennedy Center in June. That too will be spectacular. There are likely seats left. Get yours before it’s too late!

 

What Freedom Really Looks like

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Many people are refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Some of them have adopted a mantra that they will not be vaccinated because complying with government directives or even guidelines somehow compromises their “freedom.” It’s sometimes expressed as “I’m an American and no one tells me what to do.” Even if it’s for their own good and the good of their fellow Americans. Freedom first, they say.

These people are becoming increasingly marginalized because American businesses are recognizing, slowly but surely, that the best hope we as a whole people have to return to normalcy rests with achieving a high percentage of vaccinated citizens. The federal government recognizes this as well and is requiring vaccination for federal employees.

I’m not here to argue about that. You know where I stand on vaccination. No, I’m here to talk about what true “freedom” looks and feels like.

True freedom was the ability this past Saturday night to attend the Paul Taylor Dance Company performances at the Kennedy Center. Everyone entering had to show a vaccination record, ID and then received a wrist band (see the photo above). Everyone had to remain masked in the theater. What did this mean?

First and foremost, it meant the freedom, for the first time since early 2020, to watch remarkable talented performers live on stage right in front of us. We can’t do what they do but we soared with them in another way. I wanted to jump up and shout but I restrained myself.

It meant that my wife had the freedom to chat with the man seated next to her about his having seen the first set of dances ten years ago. He clearly felt the freedom too, that deep sense of relief that we can live again. Live dancers – no Zoom! The real thing.

The audience was a good mixture of older people and many younger ones as well. Some of the latter group looked like dancers and I have no doubt they were as excited to see the Paul Taylor company as we were.

The performances were amazing. The first set was devoted to music from the late 1930’s and 1940’s sung by the Andrews Sisters, tunes like Pennsylvania Polka, Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy and Rum & Coca Cola. The boogie woogie vibe of that era was fully realized in the choreography and high energy of the dancers. The dancers were clearly having a good time, and the audience was extremely responsive to the skills and enthusiasm of those remarkable people.

The second set was quite different: danced to Bach’s Violin Concerto in E Major and Double Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor (Largo & Allegro). If you aren’t familiar with those somewhat obscure titles, treat yourself here: https://yhoo.it/3lwXQc1 and here https://yhoo.it/3Bzy0tJ

While the set began with what seemed, to me at least, some pointless running around, it didn’t take too long for the choreographer’s vision to take hold with spectacular acrobatic leaps, rolls and more. Amazing athleticism. Amazing grace. Freedom!

Two days later we were still talking about the performance and the feelings it inspired.

Obviously, there are other more profound and, in a broader sense, more important aspects of freedom, but I’ll take this for now. We could breathe again, stop being afraid and just rejoice in the passion of the moment. Because everyone in the theater was vaccinated and wearing a mask. Everyone was respecting everyone else. The truth is I hate the mask. But it’s a small thing to do for my own and everyone else’s safety. And, not surprisingly, during the performances I forgot entirely that I was wearing a mask.

I read now that the Delta variant of COVID is in “remission” and that cases and deaths are once again declining. That’s good news, but we’ve been here before. Instead of declaring victory, do the smart thing: get vaccinated immediately. Demand that friends, family and co-workers do the same. That’s the only way we’re going to emerge from this nightmare. If you live in states where leadership is resisting vaccination mandates, replace those people. They don’t care about you.

If you want true freedom again, the fastest, best and only road there runs through the vaccination program. Do it now.