{"id":44509,"date":"2025-05-27T12:46:07","date_gmt":"2025-05-27T16:46:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/?p=44509"},"modified":"2025-05-27T12:46:07","modified_gmt":"2025-05-27T16:46:07","slug":"kennedy-centers-new-family-friendly-focus-still-includes-shows-with-men-dressed-in-drag","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2025\/05\/kennedy-centers-new-family-friendly-focus-still-includes-shows-with-men-dressed-in-drag.html","title":{"rendered":"Kennedy Center\u2019s New \u201cFamily-Friendly\u201d Focus Still Includes Shows With Men Dressed in Drag"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Sdkb \/ commons.wikimedia.org<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Despite earlier reporting<\/a> that the Kennedy Center is making moves to include more family-friendly programming, some news outlets have been quick to point out that some of its scheduled shows still don\u2019t quite fit that label. Several of the shows billed for the upcoming season include men dressed as women: Chicago<\/em>,\u00a0Moulin Rouge! The Musical<\/em>,\u00a0Mrs. Doubtfire<\/em>, and\u00a0Monty Python\u2019s Spamalot<\/em>. Mrs. Doubtfire<\/em> is played more for comedic effect than what is traditionally referred to as \u201cdrag\u201d but Chicago <\/em>does feature a character named Mary Sunshine, who is typically portrayed by a male soprano dressed in drag. Moulin Rouge! <\/em>features an actual drag queen. Previously, President Trump has spoken against drag shows, particularly when children are present, writing on Truth Social,<\/a> \u201cJust last year, the Kennedy Center featured Drag Shows specifically targeting our youth \u2014 THIS WILL STOP.\u201d<\/p>\n

Broadway World<\/em><\/a> framed the inclusion of the shows as an act of defiance, without citing any particular evidence. Several LGBTQ+ aimed events have been removed, including a pared down Pride season in June. The Tapestry of Pride program, part of WorldPride 2025, has been canceled as well as a concert by the Gay Men\u2019s Chorus of Washington DC. These moves seem part of a broader plan of the Trump administration to limit what has been labeled \u201cDEI\u201d initiatives while Trump\u2019s critics have accused him of transphobia and censorship.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s oversight of the Kennedy has led to a number of performers canceling<\/a> planned performances or refusing invitations to the Center. Hamilton <\/em>chose an alternative venue in DC while members of the cast of Les Mis\u00e9rables<\/em> have spoken about sitting out a planned performance at the Kennedy Center. Occupy Democrats reported the news as artists turning their backs on a \u201cfascist\u201d president. \u201cIt turns out that our nation’s best artists want nothing to do with this fascist president… According to The Washingtonian, the Washington Performing Arts booking organization are avoiding placing talent at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts for the foreseeable future,\u201d it wrote on X.<\/a><\/p>\n

Former Kennedy Center president, Deborah Rutter, has also pushed back on claims of financial mismanagement by the Trump administration. She stated the Center\u2019s financial decisions had been checked over by a \u201cmajor accounting firm\u201d and that it had $10 million in a Sustainability Fund when she left her position.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Despite earlier reporting that the Kennedy Center is making moves to include more family-friendly programming, some news outlets have been quick to point out that some of its scheduled shows still don\u2019t quite fit that label. Several of the shows billed for the upcoming season include men dressed as women: Chicago,\u00a0Moulin Rouge! The Musical,\u00a0Mrs. Doubtfire,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":44512,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-television"],"yoast_head":"\nKennedy Center\u2019s New \u201cFamily-Friendly\u201d Focus Still Includes Shows With Men Dressed in Drag<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Despite plans for family-friendly shows, Kennedy Center\u2019s lineup includes drag roles\u2014drawing criticism.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2025\/05\/kennedy-centers-new-family-friendly-focus-still-includes-shows-with-men-dressed-in-drag.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kennedy Center\u2019s New \u201cFamily-Friendly\u201d Focus Still Includes Shows With Men Dressed in Drag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Despite plans for family-friendly shows, Kennedy Center\u2019s lineup includes drag roles\u2014drawing criticism.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2025\/05\/kennedy-centers-new-family-friendly-focus-still-includes-shows-with-men-dressed-in-drag.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Idol Chatter\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-27T16:46:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/87\/2025\/05\/Moulin-Rouge-Kennedy-Center_credit-Sdkb-commons-wikimedia-org.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" 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