“Hamilton” is throwing away the Kennedy Center's shot at hosting the production after Trump takeover

Hamilton will not, in fact, be back.

The Tony award-winning musical and its production team announced on Wednesday that they are canceling their previously announced engagement at the Kennedy Center, which was slated for March 3-April 26, 2026. Producers cited the recent takeover of the performing arts center by the Trump administration as their reason for withdrawing.

This would have marked the third time Hamilton played the Kennedy Center, including an engagement in 2018 during President Donald Trump's first term.

"Political disagreement and debate are vital expressions of democracy," producer Jeffrey Seller said in a statement. "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 meant to be for all Americans, a place where we could all come together in celebration of the arts," Seller continued. "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."

Seller cited 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 as alarming changes in the Kennedy Center's operations.

"These actions bring a new spirit of partisanship to the national treasure that is the Kennedy Center," he said. "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...We are not acting against his administration, but against the partisan policies of the Kennedy Center as a result of his recent takeover."

Seller also noted that the decision was predicated on business needs as much as political ones, due to the new leadership's approach to handling contracts. "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," he noted. "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."

"We cannot presently support an institution," concluded Seller, "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."

This announcement comes after multiple members of the board, including Shonda Rhimes and Ben Folds, resigned in the wake of the takeover. Issa Rae kicked off a wave of cancellations, nixing an upcoming sold-out appearance at the Kennedy Center.

Hamilton premiered on Broadway in August 2015 during President Barack Obama's second term. Written by and starring Lin-Manuel Miranda as the titular founding father, it became a veritable phenomenon, capturing audiences' imaginations with its tale of American history told by a diverse cast using the traditions of hip-hop, rap, and musical theater.

After winning multiple Tony Awards and the Pulitzer Prize, the musical launched multiple international and touring productions. It was filmed, and the taped production featuring the original cast premiered on Disney+ in summer 2020.

Back in January, Miranda reprised the role of Alexander Hamilton during a Saturday Night Live cold open in which the founding father was interrupted mid-rap by James Austin Johnson's Donald Trump. "Our lives matter not if we lose them in the cause of liberty. What matters is the nation we built. Because in America, all men are created equal," Miranda began, launching into a rap: "America, not England, we do win the sequel / And we will have leaders, but know one thing / In America, we will never have a king."

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Barging in on his performance, Johnson's Trump replied, "Never say never. I'm in my king era.”

An era that will not include performances of Hamilton at the Kennedy Center. Instead, it will be quiet downtown.

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