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President Trump is planning to celebrate his takeover of the Kennedy Center by attending a gala fund-raiser for the center in June featuring a performance of \u201cLes Mis\u00e9rables,\u201d one of his favorite musicals.<\/p>\n
But the president\u2019s night out at the theater is already drawing protests.<\/p>\n
Several members of the \u201cLes Mis\u00e9rables<\/a>\u201d cast are planning to boycott the performance, according a person familiar with the situation who was granted anonymity because the discussions were considered confidential. The cast was given the option not to perform as word spread that Mr. Trump planned to attend, the person said. The boycott was reported earlier<\/a> by CNN.<\/p>\n Richard Grenell, whom Mr. Trump appointed as president of the Kennedy Center, said the center had not heard of any boycott.<\/p>\n \u201cAny performer who isn\u2019t professional enough to perform for patrons of all backgrounds, regardless of political affiliation, won\u2019t be welcomed,\u201d he said in a statement. \u201cIn fact, we think it would be important to out those vapid and intolerant artists to ensure producers know who they shouldn\u2019t hire \u2014 and that the public knows which shows have political litmus tests to sit in the audience.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n He added: \u201cThe Kennedy Center wants to be a place where people of all political stripes sit next to each other and never ask who someone voted for but instead enjoys a performance together.\u201d<\/p>\n The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Bond Theatrical, the agency overseeing the \u201cLes Mis\u00e9rables\u201d tour, issued a brief statement which did not address the question of performers opting out of the gala but said that the show would be performed \u201cthroughout our engagement at the Kennedy Center.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr. Trump\u2019s takeover of the Kennedy Center, and his decision to purge its previously bipartisan board of Biden appointees, have prompted an outcry among many artists. Several prominent figures, including the actress Issa Rae and the musician Rhiannon Giddens, have canceled engagements at the center in protest. The musical \u201cHamilton\u201d scrapped a planned tour there next year<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mr. Trump is expected to take part in a fund-raiser before the performance of \u201cLes Mis\u00e9rables\u201d on June 11. An invitation offered a gold sponsorship level for $2 million, and a silver sponsorship for $100,000; both come with photo opportunities with Mr. Trump. \u201cLes Mis\u00e9rables\u201d is set to run at the Kennedy Center through mid-July.<\/p>\n Mr. Trump is a fan of Broadway musicals of the 1980s, including \u201cLes Mis\u00e9rables,\u201d \u201cCats\u201d and \u201cPhantom of the Opera.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n When the president visited the center<\/a> in March, he opened a board meeting with a question: Which musical is best, \u201cPhantom of the Opera\u201d or \u201cLes Mis\u00e9rables\u201d?<\/p>\n Mr. Trump, who as a young man dreamed of becoming a theater producer, told the board that he had been informed that Broadway shows sell the best at the Kennedy Center, and pledged to present many of them, according to a recording of the board meeting that was obtained by The New York Times<\/a>. And he praised musical theater performers.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you go to watch \u2018Les Miz,\u2019 when you go to watch \u2018Phantom of the Opera,\u2019 you know how great some of the talent is,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve always said, no pop star has a voice like what you\u2019re just hearing. I\u2019ve always said they are, to me, the greatest talents. And that\u2019s all they want to do. They don\u2019t want to make movies. They don\u2019t want to do anything. They just want to do eight shows a week, with a Wednesday matinee, right? And they\u2019re tremendously talented people.\u201d<\/p>\n While Mr. Trump\u2019s vision for the Kennedy Center is still taking shape, he appears eager to fix up the building, which opened in 1971. A House committee approved a budget proposal<\/a> last week that called for allocating $257 million to the Kennedy Center for capital repairs and other expenses, roughly six times the amount it usually receives from the government. The funding was requested by Mr. Trump, according to a statement by the committee.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n