Is President Trump holding the Kennedy Center hostage? The allegation has been made at least twice, most recently by John F. Kennedy’s niece Kerry Kennedy, and earlier by Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), an ex-officio member of the board, who has sued to keep Trump’s name off the building.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “hostage” as, “a person taken by force to secure the taker’s demands.” Swap, “person” for the “Kennedy Center” and “taker” for “Trump,” and you have a pretty straightforward “yes.”
The ongoing Kennedy Center dumpster fire points to an unusual presidential obsession with the nation’s premier performing arts venue that dates back to Trump’s first term when he became the first sitting president in history to twice miss the annual Kennedy Center Honors.
In his second term, Trump turned that snub upside down by firing the board and strong-arming his way into being named chairman. If he expected to be welcomed into the arts community with open arms, he was gravely mistaken. His takeover resulted in a wave of high-profile cancellations that ultimately led to a massive dip in ticket sales. The exodus became even worse when the Trump-appointed board voted to add Trump’s name to the building late last year. The reaction, it seems, injured the president’s fragile ego and incurred his wrath.
By early February the president announced he would close the center for a two-year, $257-million renovation. Calling the historic venue “dilapidated,” Trump said he would be the one to restore it to glory. Behind the scenes another story was unfolding, and six months later the Washington Post reported that “ticket sales and fundraising collapsed” after Trump’s name was added to the building, “even as the center’s leaders publicly touted a financial turnaround.”
This week saw chaos at the venue that even the most seasoned journalists struggled to keep up with as the board voted to close the building on the same day that a federal judge upheld an order that Trump’s name could not be restored to its facade after he ordered it removed in late May.
Trump took to social media to decry the decision, threatening to withhold his support for the renovation and noting that the center could be “ripped down” if he wasn’t formally honored with his name on the building. Despite a preliminary injunction barring the venue from closing, people were kicked out of the building and barricades erected in the name of public safety that same day.
Those prone to hyperbole might be tempted to call this presidential tantrum disguised in procedural clothes a constitutional crisis. Or you could just say that Trump has taken the Kennedy Center hostage. The taker wants his name on the building, and the center will not be released for renovation or reopening if that doesn’t happen.
In the meantime an image of Trump on Air Force One was captured that shows him holding a large placard that reads, “Kennedy Center DEMO[LISHED],” leaving concerned parties to wonder just what exactly the chairman of the board has in mind. Is he using a Sharpie at this very moment to slash a line through the image at the center on that board, or is it just a prop to be trotted out in a cruel bit of future social media hazing?
Getting lost in all the drama: a beloved arts venue has gone pointlessly dark, and the people who loved it are heartbroken. If no one is inside to hear the wind whistle, does it make a sound?
I’m Arts editor Jessica Gelt, willing to rustle up a ransom. This is your arts and culture news for the week.
The week ahead: A curated calendar
FRIDAY
Oliver Lee Jackson: Form Follows Feeling
The Bay Area painter, sculptor, and printmaker’s work, created over decades, is inspired by the human figure in its composition and structure.
Opening reception, 6-8 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Lisson, 1037 N. Sycamore Ave. lissongallery.com
“Vitruvian Figure (Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum),” 2026, 3D model by Paul Pfeiffer.
(Paul Pfeiffer/Perrotin)
Paul Pfeiffer: Olympia
In new work focused on Los Angeles, the artist explores the intersection between media, spectacle, architecture and the body ahead of the city hosting the 2028 Olympic Games.
Opening reception, 6-8 p.m. Friday; Pfeiffer in conversation with Britt Salvesen, 3 p.m. Saturday; exhibition, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, through Nov. 7. Perrotin, 5036 W Pico Blvd. perrotin.com
SATURDAY
“Couple walking, Park Avenue,” 1960.
(Estate of Roy DeCarava)
Roy DeCarava: the sound i saw
The exhibition presents more than 130 images created between the late 1940s and 1960s, depicting the photographer’s intense interest in the relationship between the visual and the aural. Accompanying the exhibition, in the gallery next door, will be “SIDE B: the sounds,” a listening room featuring DeCarava’s personal playlists and favorite jazz album.
Opening reception, 6-8 p.m.; exhibition runs through Oct. 31. David Zwirner Gallery, 606 and 6166, N. Western Ave. davidzwirner.com
Sutton Foster
The two-time Tony winner and TV star performs Broadway hits and standards with Pacific Jazz Orchestra, featuring new arrangements by conductor Chris Walden.
8 p.m. The Soraya, 18111 Nordhoff St., Northridge. thesoraya.org
Mia Middleton: Summoning Cleo
New work by the artist explores interpreting familiar forms through a surreal lens.
Opening reception, 5-7 p.m. Saturday; exhibition runs through Oct. 24. Roberts Projects, 442 S. La Brea Ave. robertsprojectsla.com
Mrs. Warren’s Profession
Real-life mother and daughter Cyndy Fujikawa and Nell Murphy star in this production of George Bernard Shaw’s 1893 play about a Victorian woman coming to terms with how she built a business empire. Directed by Michael Rothaar.
Opening night, 8 p.m. Saturday; 8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays; 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays (check website for exceptions), through October 25. Pacific Resident Theatre, 707 Venice Blvd, Venice. pacificresidenttheatre.org
Grammy Award-winning composer and bandleader Arturo O’Farrill and Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra open the Segerstrom Center for the Arts’ Jazz series.
(John Abbott)
Arturo O’Farrill & Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra
The pianist and composer, a six-time Grammy winner, and his ensemble kick off the Segerstrom Center for the Arts’ 2026-27 Jazz series with Afro-Cuban rhythm, modern jazz harmony and big-band sounds.
8 p.m. Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. scfta.org
Other Places
An alternative art fair devoted to contemporary art spaces and projects, plus workshops, readings, talks and performances.
Noon-7 p.m. Angels Gate Cultural Center, 3601 S. Gaffey St., San Pedro. opaf.info
Karma
The gallery presents solo exhibitions by painters Randy Wray (“Hothouse”) and Felipe Suzuki, one featuring vivid abstractions, and the other, work created through the lens of memory .
Opening reception 6-8 p.m. Saturday; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, through Oct. 24. Karma, 7351 Santa Monica Blvd. karmakarma.org
SUNDAY
Alexander Apóstol
“Regime: Dramatis Personae” (2017), a series of black-and-white portraits of archetypal figures in both populist and authoritarian governments, uses photography to analyze the intertwining of art and political power in Latin America.
11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday; 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Thursday; 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday-Sunday; through Jan 3, 2027. Museum of Contemporary Art, 250 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. moca.org
Textile Alchemy: The Art of Reiko Sudō and NUNO
More than 100 limited-edition textiles, along with numerous objects, including drawings, sketches, raw materials, tools, mock-ups, and prototypes, are part of the largest retrospective ever of the Japanese designer’s work created with her textile collective and other collaborators from throughout Japan,
Through March 7, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Resnick Pavilion, 5905 Wilshire Blvd. lacma.org
TUESDAY
The entrance of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles in Exposition Park.
(Ron De Angelis/For The Times)
Lucas Museum Of Narrative Art
Where else will you see Luke Skywalker, Vincent Van Gogh, Norman Rockwell, Gordon Parks and Charles Schulz under one roof? The new museum officially opens Tuesday, featuring 100,000 square feet of space spread across more than 30 galleries, exhibiting a mind-bending range of visual storytelling. Check out our full coverage.
Public opening, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday; regular hours, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Fridays; 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturdays; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Sundays. Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, Exposition Park, 3800 S. Vermont Ave. lucasmuseum.org
THURSDAY
Bilal
The Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter delivers a blend of soul, funk, and jazz. Queens-born R&B musician Yaya Bey is the opening act.
8 p.m. Carpenter Center, 6200 E. Atherton St., Long Beach. carpenterarts.org
Each Other’s Hands: Trans Mutual Aid, 1966—1996
Oxy Arts, Occidental College’s community-based arts hub, presents an exhibition featuring the work of six L.A. artists. curated by Umi Hsu. The opening reception marks the launch of the 2026 CIRCA Queer Histories Festival hosted by One Institute.
Opening reception, 7 p.m. Thursday; 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Oxy Arts, 4757 York Blvd. oxyarts.oxy.edu
Arts Anywhere
Robert Wilson and the Civil Wars
The newly remastered 4K version of Howard Brookner’s 1987 documentary, the essential yet long elusive film about the 1984 L.A. Olympics Arts Festival, can finally be streamed courtesy of Criterion Channel. It is everything LA28 doesn’t want you know. criterionchannel.com
— Mark Swed
Culture news and the SoCal scene
Christian Barillas, Melinda Page Hamilton and John Lavelle in “The Visit” at Pasadena Playhouse.
(Jeff Lorch)
Pasadena Playhouse opened a new production of Swiss dramatist Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s revenge tragicomedy “The Visit,” and The Times got in on the action. Contributor Jenelle Riley wrote a preview about how the new show features more than a dozen creatives behind the Playhouse’s production of Peter Shaffer’s “Amadeus” earlier this year, including director Darko Tresnjak and actor Jefferson Mays. “Amadeus” was a major hit, so Artistic Director Danny Feldman welcomed the team back with open arms.
Meanwhile, Times theater critic Charles McNulty attended opening night and declared the play a refreshing success (with a few caveats), and expressed “gratitude for the high-level production, gratitude for making the case for why the play still matters, and gratitude for the opportunity of allowing us to make up our own minds about whether the work earns its designation as a modern classic.”
Castulo Guerra as Tlahtoani Klion in a dress rehearsal ahead of its premiere of “Antigone: In the Language of the Kings” by the Latino Theater Company at the Getty Villa.
(Ariana Drehsler/For The Times)
McNulty also headed to the Getty Villa for its annual outdoor theater production. This year, the Villa’s outdoor stage marks its 20th anniversary with a co-production with Latino Theater Company of Sophocles’ “Antigone,” reimagined to take place in pre-conquest Tenochtitlan and performed in English, Spanish and Nahuatl. “If the drama is oversimplified, it nonetheless makes for a gripping spectacle,” McNulty writes.
Finally, a very busy McNulty checked out out a revival of José Rivera’s “Marisol” in an Open Fist Theater Company production at Atwater Village Theatre. The play originally opened in the early 1990s around the same time as Tony Kushner’s “Angels in America,” and McNulty says this new staging is gratifying because it allows a new generation to “embrace the play’s kinetic freedom.”
There are as many acrobats as actors in “Water for Elephants,” which is running at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre through Sept. 27 before heading to Segerstrom Center for the Arts (Nov. 10-22, with stops in Portland, Seattle, Reno, Sacramento, Tempe, Fresno and Eugene in between). Contributor Jenelle Riley headed backstage before opening night to watch the high-stakes performers warm up with poles, hoops, ropes and more. When the curtain raises, there’s a real circus onstage.
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Long Beach Opera will perform its 2026-27 season aboard the Queen Mary.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Long Beach Opera announced its 2026-27 season, which is slated to be performed aboard the historic Queen Mary. First up: three works by composer Georges Aperghis, with vocal performances from coloratura soprano Habin Kim. Next: soprano Amanda Forsythe and Opera Prima in a performance of “Tormento Seicento.” Four additional productions include: an Anna Schubert recital, Peter Brook’s “Impressions of Pelleas,” Handel’s “Tolomeo” and Ana Sokolović’s “Svadba.”
The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles and Daniel Gryczman, the federation’s board chair, sued Pasadena’s Norton Simon Museum for the return of the diptych “Adam and Eve,” a pair of 16th century masterpieces by Lucas Cranach the Elder. The suit was one of two filed in the state “since California and Congress passed a pair of laws bolstering U.S.-based claims to Nazi-looted artwork around the world,” reports the Times’ Kevin Rector.
— Jessica Gelt
And last but not least
The Food section got the skinny on Skywalker Grill at the Lucas Museum, which is already booked through the end of the year.
