The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which had previously postponed all scheduled ticketed performances through May 22, has now extended that postponement through August 9 due to the ongoing effects of COVID–19.
The Kennedy Center and the producers of Hamilton have also postponed the entire upcoming 14-week engagement of the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical, which was to play the Opera House June 16–September 20. The producers are working with the D.C. venue to reschedule the engagement.
The Center’s programmers are exploring options for rescheduling additional artists and productions for a future date where possible. The National Symphony Orchestra is also working to reschedule all planned concerts at the Kennedy Center through August 9.
“During unprecedented moments in history we look to the arts and artists for hope and creative reflections of humanity, but at this time we are not able to gather physically, communally, as we have before for the safety of our artists, staff, and patrons,” said Kennedy Center President Deborah Rutter. “I am heartbroken by these necessary steps that have emptied our halls that are usually bursting with the sights and sounds of creative genius.However, as much as the Kennedy Center is a place, a memorial, a landmark, it is also an idea—an idea so powerful, or as President Kennedy said, ‘The life of the arts, far from being an interruption, a distraction, in the life of the nation, is close to the center of the nation’s purpose.’ That purpose continues today with our staff working to create Kennedy Center at Home programming and other digital resources while actively exploring new ways in which the nation’s cultural center can continue to be a beacon as we look forward to reopening the Center in due time.”
