Will current Kennedy Center programming be canceled? L.A. arts and culture this week
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Today is Presidents Day, so I figure it’s a good opportunity to take a look at how President Trump’s hostile takeover of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts might affect the esteemed organization’s programming in the near future.
Last week, the president’s newly appointed board of close allies — including chief of staff Susie Wiles and deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino — voted to make Trump chairman of the board and fire longtime center president Deborah F. Rutter.
Disarray ensued and high-profile artists began to jump ship. Television showrunner and writer Shonda Rhimes stepped down as treasurer; musician Ben Fold announced he would no longer serve as artistic adviser of the National Symphony Orchestra, which is headquartered at the center; opera star Renée Fleming stepped down as an artistic advisor; and actor and writer Issa Rae canceled her sold-out show next month.
A new era had suddenly dawned, one in which the only individuals welcome are those who share the Trump administration’s vision for what the president referred to on Truth Social as a “Golden Age in Arts and Culture.”
What that means has not yet come into focus, but clues abound in the many executive orders that Trump has issued in the weeks since he’s taken office. During that time, Trump, with the help of Elon Musk’s legally dubious DOGE task force, has ransacked the federal civil service in search of any programs that hint at diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). This includes language about social justice, female empowerment and LGBTQ+ rights, and staffers have been encouraged to report anyone who attempts to disguise DEI efforts.
A cursory look at the next three months of programming at the Kennedy Center shows that the organization — like many arts organizations nationwide — seeks to include a healthy mix of performances about, for and by women, people of color and the LGBTQ+ community.
Two shows dealing with LGBTQ+ themes have already been canceled or “postponed indefinitely,” according to the Washington Post, the upcoming tour of a children’s musical called “Finn” — produced and commissioned by the center — that the creators said could be read as a metaphor for the LGBTQ+ experience; and a National Symphony Orchestra concert, “A Peacock Among Pigeons,” which was described as a “celebration of love, diversity, and the vibrant spirit of the LGBTQ+ community” and scheduled during D.C.’s upcoming World Pride 2025 celebration.
One wonders what might become of other Kennedy Center shows, including a Feb. 21 program called “The Soundtrack for Social Justice,” presented by Liberated Muse and described on the center’s website as, “a poetic and musical reflection on the ways we can manifest a world of fairness and equity where human rights are recognized and upheld.
And what about an upcoming Kennedy Center world-premiere commission titled, “The Other Children of the Sun,” co-written by Navajo playwright Rhiana Yazzie. According to the center’s website, the family-friendly production about the Navajo creation legend “is part of the Theater for Young Audiences (TYA) BIPOC Superhero Project, a nationwide initiative connecting playwrights of color with TYA theaters and bringing communities together through inspiring stories of new heroes.”
Another show that might not fit the new administration’s bill: the NSO-presented D.C. premiere of composer Julia Wolfe’s large-scale theatrical work, “Her Story,” which was written for the all-female vocal group, Lorelei Ensemble, and “captures the passion and perseverance of women across centuries,” dramatizing “text from the fight for women’s equality — ranging from a letter written by Abigail Adams and a speech by Sojourner Truth, from public attacks directed at women protesting for the right to vote, to political satire, and more.”
Will performances like these continue at the Kennedy Center during the next four years, or will they be canceled, literally and/or metaphorically by incoming leaders, including interim executive director and Trump loyalist Richard Grenell?
It may come to pass that those involved in these types of shows choose to take them elsewhere when they find the soil of the once-fertile Center dry and parched of humanity. Or will the DEI Scare mirror the Red Scare, making it harder for certain ideas to find purchase, financing and support?
I’m arts and culture writer Jessica Gelt feeling uneasy about what might come next. Ashley Lee and I are biding our time with another round of arts news.
Best bets: On our radar this week
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‘Peter Berlin: Permission To Stare’
Mariposa Gallery presents the first-ever L.A. exhibition centered on Peter Berlin, the photographer and artist who transformed queer self-representation and male eroticism in the 1970s and beyond. Curated by Russell Tovey, the actor and host of the podcast “Talk Art,” the exhibition showcases Berlin’s self-portraits, painted photographs, clothing designs and other personal items. The exhibition runs concurrently with a show of Ethan James Green’s silver gelatin prints; both exhibitions are on view through Sunday. Mariposa Gallery, 526 N. Western Ave., Melrose Hill. mariposa.gallery
‘Louis B. Mayer and Irving Thalberg: The Whole Equation’
“Kenneth Turan’s splendid book about Hollywood titans Louis B. Mayer and Irving Thalberg is the first in 50 years to tell their story in a single volume,” wrote Times contributor Charles Arrowsmith of the former Times film critic’s new release, which centers on the decades when Mayer and Thalberg made MGM the most successful movie studio in Hollywood. Turan will discuss the book and sign copies at a free event in the courtyard of DIESEL, A Bookstore in Brentwood. Wednesday, 6:30 p.m. DIESEL, A Bookstore, 225 26th St., Suite 33, Brentwood. dieselbookstore.com
Mahler Grooves Festival
Times classical music critic Mark Swed has been anticipating this celebration, which starts Wednesday and runs through March 9. “In the early 1970s, cool teenagers tooled around Los Angeles in jalopies sporting Mahler Grooves bumper stickers,” he wrote earlier this year. “Gustavo Dudamel will pick up on this particular bit of L.A. youth lore with an intriguingly L.A.-centric festival of events that not only includes the Los Angeles Philharmonic performing works by Mahler and his wife, Alma (who moved to L.A. after his death), but also shows what is now a cool thing for L.A. youth. A number of student orchestras, including YOLA and ensembles from the Colburn School and UCLA, will have their own groovy ‘Mahlerthon.’” Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 South Grand Ave., downtown. laphil.com
— Ashley Lee
The week ahead: A curated calendar
TUESDAY
Brook and Meadowcroft Piano Spheres presents new works by composers Taylor Brook (“Nox”) and Thomas Meadowcroft (“All Possible Combinations”).
8 p.m. Thayer Hall at the Colburn School, 200 S. Grand Ave. pianospheres.org
A Brush With Nature: Romantic Landscape Drawings Works by Caspar David Friedrich, J.M.W. Turner and Théodore Géricault are featured in this exhibition examining the period’s motifs.
Through May 25. Getty Center, 1200 Getty Center Drive. getty.edu
María Magdalena Campos-Pons The exhibit “Behold” surveys 35 years of the Cuban-born artist’s photographs, watercolors, installations and performances.
Through May 4. Getty Center, 1200 Getty Center Drive. getty.edu
Manyaku Mashilo The South African artist’s first solo exhibition in the U.S., “The Laying of Hands,” includes a new series of multipanel paintings.
Through May 3, closed Sunday, Mondays. Southern Guild. 747 N Western Ave., Melrose Hill. southernguild.com
Michael Roemer Mezzanine’s two-night tribute to the filmmaker includes the West Coast premieres of 4K restorations of the 1976 documentary “Dying” and the 1982 drama “Pilgrim, Farewell.”
“Pilgrim, Farewell.” 8 p.m. Tuesday. Brain Dead Studios, 611 N. Fairfax Ave. “Dying.” 8 p.m. Thursday. 2220 Arts + Archives, 2220 Beverly Blvd. mezzaninefilm.com
WEDNESDAY
Adoration L.A. Opera and Beth Morrison Projects collaborate for this production of composer Mary Kouyoumdjian’s work, based on Atom Egoyan’s 2008 film.
8 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. 2 p.m. Feb. 23. REDCAT, 631 W. 2nd St., downtown L.A. laopera.org
Constellations Nick Payne’s multiverse play explores love, fate and the possibility of multiple existences.
Through March 9, Rubicon Theatre Company, 1006 E. Main St., Ventura. rubicontheatre.org
Desperate Measures Todd Nielsen directs and choreographs this musical with a score by composer David Friedman and book and lyrics by Peter Kellogg, inspired by Shakespeare’s “Measure for Measure.”
Through March 9. International City Theatre, 330 E. Seaside Way, Long Beach. ictlongbeach.org
Easy Rider A 4K screening of ,’s 1969 counterculture road drama is preceded by a conversation with Nile Southern, son of screenwriter Terry Southern, and academy governor Howard A. Rodman.
7:30 p.m. Academy Museum, 6067 Wilshire Blvd. academymuseum.org
LA Art Show The 30th anniversary edition features international art with galleries and artists from around the world.
Through Feb. 23. Los Angeles Convention Center, South Hall, 1201 S. Figueroa St., downtown L.A. laartshow.com
Mr. The neo-pop artist’s first solo exhibition in L.A., “It Was on a Brilliant Day,” highlights his recent paintings, sculptures and works on paper.
Through March 29, closed Sundays and Mondays. Perrotin, 5036 W. Pico Blvd. perrotin.com
Rachmaninoff and the Tsar Hershey Felder and Jonathan Silvestri star in Felder’s musical play that dramatizes pianist-composer Sergei V. Rachmaninoff’s encounter with Russian Tsar Nicholas II and Grand Duchess Anastasia.
Through March 2. South Coast Repertory, 655 Town Center Drive, PO Box 2197, Costa Mesa. scr.org
THURSDAY
Frieze Los Angeles The sixth edition of the art fair features work from local and global galleries, and returns to Santa Monica Airport in a structure designed by Kulapat Yantrasast’s architectural studio WHY.
Through Feb. 23. Santa Monica Municipal Airport, 3027 Airport Ave. frieze.com
London Symphony Orchestra Led by Antonio Pappano, the group performs Mahler’s “Titan” Symphony and pianist Yunchan Lim takes the stage for Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 and Mahler’s First Symphony.
8 p.m. Renée & Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, 615 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. philharmonicsociety.org
The Other Art Fair Saatchi Art highlights 140 independent artists and a new mural by Judy Baca.
Through Sunday. 2800 Casitas Ave., Atwater Village. theotherartfair.com/la/
The Sphere of Fixed Stars in the Heavens Staged readings of a two-person play by J. Holtham.
8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday; 3 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. The Rosalie, Theatre 68 Arts Complex, 5112 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood. bespokeplays.com
Culture news and the SoCal scene
The continued closure of the Getty Villa in the wake of the Palisades fire has prevented the public from seeing a new exhibit titled “Ancient Thrace and the Classical World.” Times art critic Christopher Knight caught it before the fire threatened the Villa, torching many structures in its vicinity. Unfortunately, the objects in the show need to be returned to Europe soon, and it remains unclear whether the Villa will reopen in time for others to see the stunning artifacts, including a remarkably phallic helmet dating to late 4th century BC. “The archaic society was known for the prowess of its soldiers and its brawny militarism. To generalize, we might describe Thracian art as embodying a barbaric style — not as a term of derision but merely descriptive of a blunt, skillful fierceness so often encountered in its forms,” writes Knight.
Rogue Machine Theatre’s explosive production of playwright Sophie Swithinbank’s two-person play, “Bacon,” performed upstairs at the Matrix Theatre on the small Henry Murray Stage, received a rave review from Times theater critic Charles McNulty. “You might need a moment to gather yourself” after seeing the show, McNulty writes. “The play, which explores masculinity, bullying, sexuality, internalized homophobia and violence, chronicles the abusive relationship between two wounded adolescent boys who are struggling to understand the adults they’re becoming.”
Ashley Lee sat down with actor, writer and musical composer-lyricist Douglas Lyons, who is currently in Los Angeles for IAMA Theatre’s workshop production of “Don’t Touch My Hair.” The show is his final installment in “The Deep Breath Trilogy, New Plays for Black Women.” In a Q&A, Lee and Lyons discuss the impetus for the trilogy, its workshopping process and Lyons’ advice for other writers.
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There’s some great arts reporting going on at the Washington Post where our beloved Carolina Miranda, who left The Times last year, is engaged in a yearlong project to unpack the aesthetics — and resulting political implications — of the dawning Trump era. “This president’s aesthetic combines classical architecture and cartoonish virility with WWE alternative reality,” Miranda notes in her first dispatch.
Photographer Hugh Holland, who chronicled the legendary early days of skateboard culture in 1970s California, has died. He was 82. His death was confirmed in an email by his publisher Chronicle Chroma. Holland’s street photography practice began in the late ’60s when he moved to California from Oklahoma. He got to know his subjects and was able to gather images as an insider of an insular scene populated by idealistic drifters, artists, athletes and skate enthusiasts. His work has been shown in galleries worldwide and is collected in three books: “Locals Only” (2012), “Silver. Skate. Seventies.” (2019), and “Last Days of Summer” (2024).
Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum unveiled its 2025 season. Titled “A Season of Resilience” and announced in the wake of the Palisades fire that threatened the beloved outdoor venue, the offerings include Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” along with a new production of Nobel Prize-winning writer and activist John Galsworthy’s 1909 drama “Strife,” and the world premiere of Theatricum artistic director Ellen Geer’s play “The Seagull: Malibu,” a reimaging of the Anton Chekhov classic.
— Jessica Gelt
And last but not least
Jon Stewart and John Oliver reunite on “The Daily Show” to skewer America’s embrace of its “Monarchy Era.”
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