Five Democratic senators have rented a small theater at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and invited the producer of “Hamilton” to stage a gay pride concert there as a form of symbolic protest against President Trump’s takeover of the institution.
The event, scheduled to take place on Monday night before an invited audience, will feature Broadway artists performing songs and readings. The concert, hosted by Senator John Hickenlooper of Colorado, is being called “Love Is Love,” a slogan used by the gay rights movement and quoted by the “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda when his show won at the Tony Awards in 2016.
“What’s happening in the world is deeply concerning, but even in our darkest hours, we must continue to seek out the light,” Mr. Hickenlooper said in a statement. “The L.G.B.T.Q. community has long embodied this resilience, maintaining joy and creativity in the face of adversity.”
Mr. Trump took over the Kennedy Center in February after purging its previously bipartisan board of Democratic appointees and replacing them with his allies. He denounced its programming as too “wokey” and promised to usher in a “Golden Age in Arts and Culture.”
The senators, who exercised a prerogative extended to members of Congress to rent space in the center, chose this week for the event because June has long been when supporters of the gay community have celebrated Pride Month.
Mr. Trump, in a departure from previous presidents, has not acknowledged Pride Month, and some of his actions in recent months have prompted concern in the L.G.B.T.Q. community. Since his takeover of the center, several groups have canceled events there, saying they no longer feel welcome.
Richard Grenell, whom Mr. Trump installed as president of the Kennedy Center, has defended the center’s approach and rejected the idea that it has shown antipathy toward L.G.B.T.Q. groups. Mr. Grenell, one of the most prominent gay appointees serving in the Trump administration, has accused the left of intolerance and expressed dismay about Pride celebrations in general.
Mr. Hickenlooper said four other Democratic senators were hosting Monday’s event with him: Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Jacky Rosen of Nevada, Brian Schatz of Hawaii and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. They rented the Justice Forum, a 144-seat lecture hall in the Reach, part of a recent Kennedy Center expansion project, without disclosing the purpose.
The Kennedy Center did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.
Mr. Hickenlooper turned to Jeffrey Seller, the lead producer of “Hamilton,” to produce the show. He reached out to Mr. Seller a few weeks ago asking if he wanted to engage in some “guerrilla theater,” Mr. Seller said in an interview.
Mr. Seller said he was planning a concert of about 90 minutes “to celebrate gay characters, gay culture, gay music and gay pride.”
“This is our way of reoccupying the Kennedy Center,” Mr. Seller said. “This is a form of saying, ‘We are here, we exist and you can’t ignore us.’ This is a protest, and a political act.”
Mr. Seller in March had canceled a planned 2026 run of “Hamilton” at the Kennedy Center, saying he did not want profits from the show to support Mr. Trump’s vision for the venue.
Mr. Seller said the expected performers include the writer-performers John Cameron Mitchell (“Hedwig and the Angry Inch”), Lisa Kron (“Fun Home”) and Andrew Lippa (“I Am Harvey Milk”), as well as the performers Beth Malone (“Fun Home”), Brandon Uranowitz (“Leopoldstadt”) and Jelani Remy (“Back to the Future: The Musical”).
The event is being directed by Seth Rudetsky and his husband, James Wesley Jackson; they have organized other concerts for social and political causes.
Several events that were set to take place at the center as part of a World Pride celebration in early June were moved. Others were canceled before Mr. Trump took office for financial or scheduling reasons, according to the Kennedy Center, including a performance in May by the National Symphony Orchestra that was to feature the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington. That group is planning to perform at the concert on Monday.
Michael Paulson is the theater reporter for The Times.
Javier C. Hernández is a Times reporter who covers classical music, opera and dance in New York City and beyond.
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