Last week musician Peter Wolf used social media to announce that he had cancelled his Kennedy Center appearance citing the recent change in administration.

Melissa Errico has cancelled her concert “The Story of a Rose”.  The show has been moved to the Schlesinger Concert Hall in Alexandria, Virginia.

On March 5, the Pulitzer Prize, Grammy Award, and the Edward M. Kennedy Prize, and Tony Award winning musical “Hamilton” by Lin-Manuel Miranda has announced that they are cancelling their 2026 performances at the Kennedy Center.

The musical was to be a part of the celebration for the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Kennedy Center Honouree Lin-Manuel Miranda and lead producer Jeffrey Seller spoke on the dicision saying, “this latest action by Trump means it’s not the Kennedy Center as we knew it.  The Kennedy Center was not created in this spirit, and we’re not going to be a part of it while it is the Trump Kennedy Center. We’re just not going to be part of it.”

Seller added, “’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. ‘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.”

Previously the Kennedy Center has cancelled “Eureka Day”, the children’s musical “Finn”, and the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, D.C. with the National Symphony Orchestra.

Comedian Issa Rae, the rock band Low Cut connie, and Grammy Award winning artist Rhiannon Giddens have all cancelled performances at the Center; citing the current Kennedy Center administration.

Artistic advisors Renee Fleming, Ben Folds, and Shonda Rhimes all resigned right after the takeover.

New Kennedy Center president Richard Grenell had some unkind words for “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manual Miranda saying that Miranda, “is intolerant of people who don’t agree with him politically. It’s clear he and Sellers don’t want Republicans going to their shows.”

While he has never attended a performance at the Kennedy Center, the reason given for the takeover was to eliminate drag performances and “woke” culture.

Jeffrey Sellers complete statement:
“Political 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.

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.”