By Brendan O’Brien
(Reuters) – The hit musical “Hamilton” is scrapping plans to take part in John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ upcoming celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence after President Donald Trump’s overhaul of the center in Washington.
In February, weeks after taking office, Trump fired the center’s president, replaced the board of trustees and named himself chairman of the organization. In response, the musical’s creator Lin-Manuel Miranda and lead producer Jeffrey Seller said on Wednesday that “Hamilton” will not perform during the center’s celebration next year.
“It became untenable for us to participate in an organization that had become so deeply politicized,” Seller said in an interview with the New York Times. “The Kennedy Center is for all of us, and it pains me deeply that they took it over and changed that.”
The moves represent a takeover by Trump of a cultural institution that is known for its signature Kennedy Center Honors performances and is home to the National Symphony Orchestra and the Washington National Opera.
In a social media post, Richard Grenell, the center’s new president, accused Miranda of intolerance toward those who differ with him politically.
“This is a publicity stunt that will backfire,” Grenell wrote on X. “The Arts are for everyone – not just for the people who Lin likes and agrees with.”
Miranda, a Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner of Puerto Rican descent, has been a vocal critic of Trump and his policies on several occasions. His musical is a hip-hop infused musical with a diverse cast featuring African-American and Latino actors who tell the story of how penniless immigrant Alexander Hamilton rose to become the right-hand man of General George Washington.
The show was to run at the center from March 3 to April 26, 2026 to celebrate 250 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
The announcement by Miranda and Seller comes after several artists canceled shows at the center in reaction to Trump’s moves, including folk musician Rhiannon Giddens, comedian Issa Rae and musician Low Cut Connie.
(Reporting by Brendan O’Brien in Chicago; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
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