Willkommen? NOT. What Won't Be Playing Ric's Kennedy Center

"RIC. WELCOME TO SHOW BUSINESS" President Donald Trump trumpeted to Richard Grenell on Monday when he appointed the out Republican operator and former ambassador to Germany as head of the Kennedy Center.

But doesn't what Trump wrote scream camp? I mean, is there a gayer way of spelling Richard than "Ric?" (Well, "Dic," perhaps.")

But was this a way for Trump to put a loyal, if insistent, aide into a largely ineffectual position where he will spend time policing drag shows? Grenell, it should be noted, auditioned for Secretary of State by hiring a public relations firm to promote his nomination. That job went to Marco Rubio. Trump offered him Director of National Intelligence, which he declined. As to why he accepted the Kennedy Center post is a bit of a mystery for a politico as power hungry as Ric. When your political opposition ends up being RuPaul and the queens from Drag Race, you are hardly welding much power in the DC scheme of things.

Nor do we have much insight into Grenell's aesthetic tastes. Does he love Maria Callas? Would he institute a retrospective of Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals just as the Kennedy Center did famously with Stephen Sondheim a decade ago? Will he rename the Center's largest auditorium, the Grand Ole Opry House?

And in the five days since the announcement, there have been changes to the Kennedy Center's announced line-up. Comedian, actress and content creator Issa Rae canceled her sold-out show, becoming the first major celebrity to decline from appearing at the center. On Friday, the Washington Post reports on the chilling effect the administrative changes have had on the institution. Some have been voluntary, such as musician Ben Folds and opera singer Renée Fleming who said they were stepping down as artistic advisers with the center, as did the treasurer of its board of trustees, TV producer Shonda Rhimes. And some have been not: "The center terminated its general counsel and the head of its public relations department, according to people with close knowledge of the Kennedy Center who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they feared reprisal," the Post reports. "The center's new public relations staff did not immediately respond to questions about firings or most of the show cancellations."

And the tour of the children's musical "Finn," which the Center commissioned and hosted a successful four-week run, has been scrubbed. The Post writes: "A creator of the show said it could be read as a metaphor for LGBTQ+ experience, though there is nothing in the musical explicitly about the community."

Looking at upcoming bookings, one that will likely come under Ric's scrutiny is "Chris Grace: As Scarlett Johansson," scheduled for July. In the show, the star of NBC's "Superstore" uses Johansson's infamous performance as a Japanese cyborg in "Ghost in a Shell," to hilariously explore the bounds of an artist's identity.

But judging from the President's recent edicts, don't be surprised is Grace is axed.

And, looking forward, here are some plays, musicals and personalities we will NOT expect to see on any of the Kennedy Center's three stages any time soon. Interestingly, some have already played the venues.

'CATS. The Jellicle Ball'

"Bring it to the runway," read the tagline to last summer's re-imagined version of "CATS" that played off-Broadway to much acclaim. In this version, the fight as to which cat will be crowned winner of the Jellicle Ball is framed around drag Ballroom culture. It counted amongst its many admirers Andrew Lloyd Webber, who called the audience response "electric." "CATS" is no stranger to the Kennedy Center, having played there three times since 1982, but this one may be a bridge too far for Ric's re-imagined Kennedy Center to host if should ever tour, though it would likely fit nicely in the complex's smallest auditorium.



'Oh, Mary!'

Is there a Broadway hit better suited for a DC run than "Oh, Mary!," Cole Escola's runaway hit that has defied all odds to become a huge hit? A lunatic comedy about Mary Todd Lincoln and her dreams of becoming a cabaret star is a natural for the nation's capital. How this small show moved from off-Broadway to becoming a Broadway sellout without a celebrity at its helm is one of the happiest theatrical success stories of the past few years. And its success simply says that the time for drag on Broadway is now. Not so much at the Kennedy Center when the show goes out on a National tour, which it will eventually. Producers will have to look beyond the Kennedy Center for a venue with Ric in charge. He may laugh heartedly from his $350 seat at Broadway's Lyceum Theatre, but such camp shenanigans are verboten on the banks of the Potomac. Is Ford's Theatre available?