This past weekend I enjoyed WNO production of Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha at GWU Lisner. Obscure opera composed in 1910 by an African American ragtime innovator in which the heroine of the story is an adopted Af Am woman who believes in science, helping others, and forgiving conjurers who look to trick the populace. Too woke?
Still get the monthly KC flyer. Zero mention of anything jazz or hip hop this time. Continued focus on NSO
Under the great and glorious leadership of Donald J Trump, the Trump Taj Mahal opened for business in 1990. It filed for bankruptcy in 1991. Similar timeline for Trump’s leadership of the Kennedy Center, may it rest in peace.
It's going to be hard to go to the Kennedy Center again, after Trump remodels it in his own gaudy image. As a DC area resident for much of my life, I have seen many wonderful shows there from childhood through adulthood. My mother used to bring us to the great halls of the Center for the air conditioning in hot DC summers. I was introduced to opera there and waited in line outside early one morning in high school to get tickets for Phantom. My parents lived next door in the Watergate for many years and my loved running back and forth and listening to the echoes in the vast corridors. I will probably visit the Kennedy Center once more before Trump wrecks it, and then I will never go again. I suspect I am not alone in that sentiment.
It IS true that the Kennedy Center sorely needs repair and restoration. That would be good, if done with care. They are not off to a good start, though. The tall, thin columns of anodized aluminum were originally a dull gold. Trump has painted them in "luxurious white enamel," which looks so tacky against the gray-veined marble. Originally, the dark columns stood out against the marble, the contrast balancing their thinness. The white ones disappear against it, and you just see rather dull boxes.
My hypothesis, based on visiting when 3/4s of the columns had been painted, is that an incompetent or underfunded contractor tried to clean the columns and turned them a weird color. Then Trump cheaped out with the white enamel. In addition, I saw columns that had been damaged, including one that had been sawed into and left with a gaping wound. I hope they get more competent contractors for the rest of the work.
Trump also cut down the graceful willow trees that used to be in raised beds on the deck overlooking the Potomac -- my favorite view in all of Washington.
I used to go there often when the American Film Institute was there and also subscribed to the modern dance series a couple of times. The most memorable performances I've seen were:
1. Alvin Ailey -- the most beautiful portrayal of African-American grace and elegance
2. The Nutcracker -- I had a chance to get tickets from a subscriber for the box seats above the presidential box. It really is a commanding view unlike anything else, and the staging of the ballet with softly falling snow was sublime.
3. Laurie Anderson in one of the small auditoriums.
4. Last year I saw an avant garde dance performance of Dostoevky's Crime and Punishment in which Raskolnikov was danced by a woman dancer who so perfectly embodied this young man that I didn't realize it was a woman the first time I saw it, from the back of the balcony for a dress rehearsah. It was so wonderful I immediately bought tickets near the stage and saw it again a day later.
I dearly hope Trump doesn't leave the Kennedy Center in shambles or have his name woven into new carpet and drapes, and that this historic monument has a chance to rise like a phoenix.
I was fortunate enough to see the Hamilton traveling troupe perform at the Kennedy Center, as well as a winter concert by Leslie Odom, Jr. He is an amazing talent.
It is a travesty what the Orange Monstrosity has done to this cultural gem. If we could only go back in time and prevent The Apprentice from ever airing on network television, the world would be a much better place.
I fear the Kennedy Center as we have long known it won't survive Trump's "remodeling." I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to attend 2 productions there: the out-of-town tryout for "1600 Pennsylvania Avenue," a Lerner and Bernstein musical about the White House that went on to flop dramatically on Broadway, and the aforementioned "Shear Madness" that I saw one evening while in town on business. I suppose you could say I'm 50/50 on choosing plays with some lasting power. And of course the magnificent showcase of JFK's bust is unforgettable. I will treasure the memories of those experiences as I mourn for the nation's loss at the hands of a petty narcissist.
My dad and I shared a mutual love of the Kennedy Center Honors and used to trade videos of our favorites. I still have a screen shot of a text teasing me about how many times I'd shared Aretha Franklin's rendition of Natural Woman for Carole King's tribute. My dad never went to see the center and so when my wife and I went to a Sara Bareilles concert there in the fall of 2024 after my dad had passed we went back the next day for a tour. It was as beautiful and reverential and historic as I had imagined and my dad would have loved it. There are millions of people who have experienced the center and have their own special memories. Trump's trashing of those experiences for his own ego and vanity is so emblematic of every aspect of his presidency.
Thanks Sonny. My family lived for nearly thirty years inside the beltway and attended the Kennedy Center a number of times- every single one a mixed feeling of joy and patriotic gratitude. As Bulwark has reminded us, the Center is a Kennedy family memorial, so it will be easy (and I hope fast) to strip the pretenders name off it when he's gone.
The Center has always seemed young to me, just as its namesake did, and the mere sight of it, day or night from the Teddy Roosevelt Bridge, was always a treasured gift.
This past weekend I enjoyed WNO production of Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha at GWU Lisner. Obscure opera composed in 1910 by an African American ragtime innovator in which the heroine of the story is an adopted Af Am woman who believes in science, helping others, and forgiving conjurers who look to trick the populace. Too woke?
Still get the monthly KC flyer. Zero mention of anything jazz or hip hop this time. Continued focus on NSO
I have a theory that Trump, pig that he is, hit on Jackie O when she returned to NYC and she rejected him. It fits with his sickness (all of them).
Under the great and glorious leadership of Donald J Trump, the Trump Taj Mahal opened for business in 1990. It filed for bankruptcy in 1991. Similar timeline for Trump’s leadership of the Kennedy Center, may it rest in peace.
Great writing, Sonny. Thank you.
It's going to be hard to go to the Kennedy Center again, after Trump remodels it in his own gaudy image. As a DC area resident for much of my life, I have seen many wonderful shows there from childhood through adulthood. My mother used to bring us to the great halls of the Center for the air conditioning in hot DC summers. I was introduced to opera there and waited in line outside early one morning in high school to get tickets for Phantom. My parents lived next door in the Watergate for many years and my loved running back and forth and listening to the echoes in the vast corridors. I will probably visit the Kennedy Center once more before Trump wrecks it, and then I will never go again. I suspect I am not alone in that sentiment.
It IS true that the Kennedy Center sorely needs repair and restoration. That would be good, if done with care. They are not off to a good start, though. The tall, thin columns of anodized aluminum were originally a dull gold. Trump has painted them in "luxurious white enamel," which looks so tacky against the gray-veined marble. Originally, the dark columns stood out against the marble, the contrast balancing their thinness. The white ones disappear against it, and you just see rather dull boxes.
My hypothesis, based on visiting when 3/4s of the columns had been painted, is that an incompetent or underfunded contractor tried to clean the columns and turned them a weird color. Then Trump cheaped out with the white enamel. In addition, I saw columns that had been damaged, including one that had been sawed into and left with a gaping wound. I hope they get more competent contractors for the rest of the work.
Trump also cut down the graceful willow trees that used to be in raised beds on the deck overlooking the Potomac -- my favorite view in all of Washington.
I used to go there often when the American Film Institute was there and also subscribed to the modern dance series a couple of times. The most memorable performances I've seen were:
1. Alvin Ailey -- the most beautiful portrayal of African-American grace and elegance
2. The Nutcracker -- I had a chance to get tickets from a subscriber for the box seats above the presidential box. It really is a commanding view unlike anything else, and the staging of the ballet with softly falling snow was sublime.
3. Laurie Anderson in one of the small auditoriums.
4. Last year I saw an avant garde dance performance of Dostoevky's Crime and Punishment in which Raskolnikov was danced by a woman dancer who so perfectly embodied this young man that I didn't realize it was a woman the first time I saw it, from the back of the balcony for a dress rehearsah. It was so wonderful I immediately bought tickets near the stage and saw it again a day later.
I dearly hope Trump doesn't leave the Kennedy Center in shambles or have his name woven into new carpet and drapes, and that this historic monument has a chance to rise like a phoenix.
DO NOT blame New York for Donald Trump.
New Yorkers are both the best and worst of us, and I'm afraid Trump learned all too much from the Mafia back when he was doing actual construction.
Thank you for sharing your day at the Kennedy Center and for a very interesting conversation with Brian Raftery.
I was fortunate enough to see the Hamilton traveling troupe perform at the Kennedy Center, as well as a winter concert by Leslie Odom, Jr. He is an amazing talent.
It is a travesty what the Orange Monstrosity has done to this cultural gem. If we could only go back in time and prevent The Apprentice from ever airing on network television, the world would be a much better place.
I fear the Kennedy Center as we have long known it won't survive Trump's "remodeling." I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to attend 2 productions there: the out-of-town tryout for "1600 Pennsylvania Avenue," a Lerner and Bernstein musical about the White House that went on to flop dramatically on Broadway, and the aforementioned "Shear Madness" that I saw one evening while in town on business. I suppose you could say I'm 50/50 on choosing plays with some lasting power. And of course the magnificent showcase of JFK's bust is unforgettable. I will treasure the memories of those experiences as I mourn for the nation's loss at the hands of a petty narcissist.
I suggest we shall overcome.
Willie Stark, 1981; Nixon in China, 1988. And NSO several times in the 70s.
My dad and I shared a mutual love of the Kennedy Center Honors and used to trade videos of our favorites. I still have a screen shot of a text teasing me about how many times I'd shared Aretha Franklin's rendition of Natural Woman for Carole King's tribute. My dad never went to see the center and so when my wife and I went to a Sara Bareilles concert there in the fall of 2024 after my dad had passed we went back the next day for a tour. It was as beautiful and reverential and historic as I had imagined and my dad would have loved it. There are millions of people who have experienced the center and have their own special memories. Trump's trashing of those experiences for his own ego and vanity is so emblematic of every aspect of his presidency.
I have never been to the Kennedy Center, but I will miss the wonderful tributes. I watch them over & over.
I’d never been. Now I feel like I have. Thank you.
Thanks Sonny. My family lived for nearly thirty years inside the beltway and attended the Kennedy Center a number of times- every single one a mixed feeling of joy and patriotic gratitude. As Bulwark has reminded us, the Center is a Kennedy family memorial, so it will be easy (and I hope fast) to strip the pretenders name off it when he's gone.
The Center has always seemed young to me, just as its namesake did, and the mere sight of it, day or night from the Teddy Roosevelt Bridge, was always a treasured gift.
Spot on Sonny. Thank you.