Five Democratic senators will host an invitation-only Pride concert at the Kennedy Center Monday as a protest against President Donald Trump’s takeover of the Washington D.C. arts institution.
The 90-minute concert, which is expected to feature Broadway performers as well as The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington D.C., is set for Monday night, The New York Times reports.
Organized by John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., the group of Senators – Hickenlooper, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Jacky Rosen of Nevada, Brian Schatz of Hawaii and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts – have rented the Justice Forum, a 144-seat theater located in the Reach expansion of the Kennedy Center, using a privilege available to all members of Congress.
“What’s happening in the world is deeply concerning, but even in our darkest hours, we must continue to seek out the light,” Hickenlooper said in a statement. “The L.G.B.T.Q. community has long embodied this resilience, maintaining joy and creativity in the face of adversity.”
The concert, titled “Love is Love,” is being produced by Hamilton producer Jeffrey Seller, who was invited by Hickenlooper to participate. Earlier this year, Seller and Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda canceled a planned 2026 Kennedy Center engagement of that musical in protest of the Trump takeover.
Expected to perform at the “Love Is Love” concert – the title makes reference to Miranda’s 2016 Tony Award acceptance speech – are John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig and the Angry Inch), Lisa Kron (Fun Home), Andrew Lippa (I Am Harvey Milk), Beth Malone (Fun Home), Brandon Uranowitz (Leopoldstadt) and Jelani Remy (Back to the Future: The Musical).
The concert will be directed by Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley Jackson, who recently staged a New York City concert event of the children’s musical Finn. A national tour of the Kennedy Center-produced musical was canceled by the institution around the time of Trump’s February takeover. The Kennedy Center said that the decision was made for financial reasons.
In an interview with the Times, Seller called the concert an act of “guerrilla theater” that will feature “gay characters, gay culture, gay music and gay pride.”
After taking office Trump fired all of Joe Biden’s appointees to the Kennedy Center board, which at the time had a nearly even partisan split, a Kennedy Center tradition. Trump named himself Chairman of the Board and lambasted what he described as woke programming, specifically citing LGBTQ+-themed productions.
In response to Trump’s comments and the cancelations of Finn, a Pride concert featuring the The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington D.C. and a production of the acclaimed Broadway vaccine-themed comedy Eureka Day, a raft of artists pulled out of planned Kennedy Center engagements.
Most recently, some cast members of the touring production of Les Misérables chose not to perform on the opening night attended by Trump, who walked the red carpet. Asked about the boycotting cast members, Trump said, “I couldn’t care less.”
In the interview with the Times, producer Seller said, “This is our way of reoccupying the Kennedy Center. This is a form of saying, ‘We are here, we exist and you can’t ignore us.’ This is a protest, and a political act.”
Deadline has reached out to the Kennedy Center for comment.
