For nearly half a century, the Kennedy Center Honors have been both a crowning achievement in the arts and a premier social event that have largely avoided the partisan politics of the nation’s capital. But with President Donald Trump hosting the ceremony Sunday after he overhauled the Kennedy Center this year, the festivities will look a bit different this time around.
Trump, who broke with tradition by not attending Kennedy Center Honors events during his first term, is now the center’s chairman and has sought to reimagine the Honors. He’s called previous honorees “radical left lunatics,” said the hosts were “always terrible” and proposed going “slightly more conservative” with some recipients.
This weekend’s event caps a turbulent year of firings, resignations and struggling ticket sales at the institution, and it marks Trump’s moment in the spotlight at an American landmark he’s keen on redefining. Here’s what to know.
Who are this year’s honorees?
At the 48th annual event, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts will honor the glam metal band Kiss; actor Michael Crawford, of “Phantom of the Opera” fame; country music legend George Strait; actor Sylvester Stallone; and disco star Gloria Gaynor. Tom Cruise was offered an honor but declined because of scheduling conflicts, The Washington Post reported in August.
How were honorees chosen?
In the past, awardees have been selected by a committee of previous recipients and members of the arts community. It’s not clear what the process looked like this year, but Trump has described himself as “very involved.” At one point, the president suggested honoring deceased individuals as well as executives, politicians and athletes. The final list, however, aligns with that of previous years in scope and selection, with past honorees including no shortage of country singers, graying rock bands, longtime actors and the like.
The selection perhaps most reflective of Trump’s taste is Crawford. The president is an avid fan of “Phantom of the Opera” and has played music from the production at his rallies. Politically, the group is a mixed bag. Stallone has expressed support for Trump, calling him the “second George Washington” at a gala in Mar-a-Lago. Gaynor is not known for her political statements, but Federal Election Commission records show donations to Republican campaigns in recent years under her birth name in New Jersey. Members of Kiss have varied in their support of Trump in the past, including front man Gene Simmons, who has criticized him.
Can I watch the Honors live?
Keeping with tradition, Sunday’s event will not be broadcast live but will air on CBS on Tuesday, Dec. 23, at 8 p.m. Eastern and stream on Paramount+.
What will be different under Trump?
Two elements are definitely changing: the host and the physical award that honorees receive.
In the past, the Honors have been hosted by celebrities such as Stephen Colbert and Queen Latifah while the president and first lady watch from the presidential box. (Walter Cronkite and Caroline Kennedy were also longtime hosts.) Hosting the Honors is not as involved as emceeing a show such as the Academy Awards, but a former development staffer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisal, stressed the importance of the host’s “ability to lead the audience through the storytelling that is involved in this particular event.”
The design for the award given to honorees, by New York artist Ivan Chermayeff, has been consistent across Honors history: gold-plated medallions held by satin, rainbow-colored ribbons, meant to symbolize the breadth of the arts. The D.C.-area family of retired manufacturer James Baturin had been making the distinctive medallions for 47 years, but the Kennedy Center dropped them in August and said it would instead source the award medals from Tiffany & Company. In a press release last week, the Kennedy Center showcased the new design, showing a gold disk, with a touch of rainbow on the front, hanging from a navy blue lanyard.
What usually happens Honors weekend?
Honors weekend usually includes a VIP reception at the White House, a medallion ceremony and dinner at the State Department, and a gala, where a number of stars perform. Honors have historically been the center’s biggest fundraising opportunity of the year, with outreach to donors starting many months in advance.
“It is truly — or it used to be — just such a major, all-hands-on-deck kind of event,” the staffer said, calling the resulting production “a culmination of the whole previous year.”
The festivities are a logistical puzzle, attracting donors and celebrities with more than a dozen events in total, usually handled by seasoned staff members well-versed in the weekend’s complexities. This year, many of those staff members are gone.
The two-hour-plus show usually features 70 or more artists who perform in support of the honorees.
Do politics typically affect the Kennedy Center Honors?
Stars have occasionally grumbled about the politics of the president receiving them, but the Honors avoided outright revolt until 2017, when three honorees said they would or may boycott a reception at the Trump White House. Trump then withdrew his involvement from the ceremonies to avoid “political distraction,” a move Kennedy Center leadership praised publicly at the time. During the Biden administration, the status quo briefly returned.
What is the significance of Kennedy Center Honors?
The Kennedy Center began awarding honors in 1978, inspired by a celebration of American films that took place at the center the year before.
In the 2011 book “The Nation’s Stage: The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts,” Michael Dolan and Michael Shohl write that the Honors recognize significant contributions to the arts, but they “also speak volumes more,” highlighting a kind of wider progress a given artist has made for humanity.
Dolan said in an interview with The Post that the Honors have long brought “a little glimmer of star power to Washington … the kind of place where someone like Pete Hegseth gets to pass as a celebrity.”
Some have likened the award to a Nobel Prize for the arts, but Dolan didn’t go that far. It’s more like a “Potomac-sodden Oscar,” he said.
Travis Andrews and Janay Kingsberry contributed to this report.
The post What to know about the Kennedy Center Honors as Trump hosts appeared first on Washington Post.
