Is the Kennedy Center open? Staff says programs continue despite tarp
The arts center's board is scheduled to meet in mid-July to vote on path for a $258 million renovation project while remaining open under a court order.
Bart JansenWASHINGTON – Is the Kennedy Center still open?
That’s what a federal judge ordered, and it’s what the arts center’s board of mostly supporters of President Donald Trump said is happening. But don’t expect to see “Les Miserables” any time soon.
The building’s facade remains shrouded beneath a tarp after U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ordered the removal of Trump’s name. Cooper also ordered the center to remain open beyond its scheduled closing July 5 – for two years of renovation – but it’s unclear when performances might resume.
Matt Floca, executive director and chief operating officer, said in a court filing that the center will “maintain an operational model past July 5, allowing for continued public access.”
“Educational and community-outreach programming will also be maintained,” Floca said. “Given present uncertainty as to future programming, management has deferred affirmative long-term programming or staffing adjustments until the Board selects a final operational path.”
The drama surrounding the Kennedy Center – beyond the performances staged inside – began after Congress approved $258 million to renovate the building. The center's board added Trump's name to the facade and its website as he adopted the project as one of his priorities.
But that change sparked a lawsuit from Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, who serves on the board, because Congress named the Kennedy Center in the statute creating it in 1964.
Before the construction project, the Kennedy Center had announced performances of “Back to the Future” and “Mrs. Doubtfire” for July and August. But the renovations later prompted the board to halt all productions.
Under Cooper’s order, the center’s managers plan to meet with the board in mid-July to vote on how to move forward on construction, according to a Justice Department filing June 19. Options include hosting no programming, closing parts of the building to allow for limited programming or scheduling a limited series of closures around the building while a full slate of programming continues.
“Center management currently intends for the Center and its building to maintain an operational model past the originally planned closure date of July 5,” the Justice Department filing said. “The Center continues to prepare for additional capital repair and construction activities.”
Legal fight over adding Donald Trump's name continues
Meanwhile, a court appeal over the removal of Trump’s name trudges along.
The actual removal of Trump’s name from the facade was accomplished June 13, in the early morning hours after Cooper’s deadline of the previous day. But the front of the building remains hidden by curtains while the marble wall is repaired.
Justice Department lawyers asked the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals for an emergency order to halt the removal of Trump’s name. Despite an initial rejection, the request remains to restore Trump's name.
Government lawyers argued that without his name on the building, fundraising from corporations that contributed millions “will not only come to a halt, but any and all monies raised or committed would be obligated to be returned, refunded, or terminated.”
In a filing June 22, Beatty's lawyers called the appeal "frivolous" and “ludicrous,” and argued that Trump couldn’t withhold funding because his name was removed from the building.
“A trustee cannot create a poison pill to sabotage a trust should courts prevent him from defying the law,” the filing said.