Not invited performers. Protesters. Protesters in full glam, seated front and center, present not just to be seen but to make a statement. Trump has repeatedly spoken out against drag performances at public institutions, including this one. These queens, by simply showing up, refused to be erased. They made the space their own. One of them, Vagenesis, said it best. “It felt like we were making art in real time, just by being there.” And she was right. Their presence was the performance.
Backstage, another protest was unfolding. Reports confirmed that ten of the twelve lead performers refused to take the stage that evening. Not because they were sick or called out last minute, but because they chose not to perform for the former president. Imagine attending a gala performance of a major production and finding out most of the principal cast sat out. That kind of refusal is not casual. That is a line being drawn.
The Kennedy Center is not what it once was. Since Trump-aligned leadership took over, subscriptions have dropped. Programming has been cut, departments have been dissolved, and the institution feels more like a political stage than a cultural one.
All of this happened during Les Misérables. A show that has always been about injustice and revolt. A story of the people versus power. It is not subtle. To sit in the audience for Les Mis and miss the irony of booing voices and drag defiance is to miss the point entirely. Trump watched a musical about the dangers of authoritarianism while surrounded by people who no longer trust him with the arts. That is not just dramatic. That is poetic.
It is tempting to view this as just one chaotic evening. But what happened that night was part of a larger story. Artists are no longer staying quiet. Audiences are no longer staying seated. Protest is not just something we read about in history books. It is happening in real time. Sometimes in streets. Sometimes in silence. And sometimes in the orchestra section of a theatre that has been turned into a cultural battleground. So Donald, do you hear the people sing?
