Cast members of children’s musical Finn made an unexpected return to the Kennedy Center stage when rock band Guster invited the young singer-actors to join the band in a song Friday night.
In a video of the performance – the alternative rock band Guster was performing with the National Symphony Orchestra (see it below) – Guster lead singer Ryan Miller said from the Kennedy Center stage, “My friend named Michael wrote the songs for a musical called Finn,” a reference to one of the show’s three creators Michael Kooman.
Miller continued, “In the before times they were booked to play here. But as all of you know, things happened, and the show is no longer being presented by the Kennedy Center. As the new administration has made abundantly clear, Finn’s themes of inclusivity, love, and self-acceptance aren’t going to be welcome in this building while they are in control. So tonight our band is here to say our stage is your stage. We are your allies, we stand with the LGBTQ community, and we want you to sing with us. Please welcome the cast of Finn and composer Michael Kooman.”
To considerable applause from the audience, Finn cast members joined in on Guster’s 2018 song “Hard Times.”
Finn, a musical about self-acceptance and tolerance that offers a supportive message to LGBTQ+ youths, did perform an engagement at the Kennedy Center last December, but it was a planned tour of the show that was canceled just as Donald Trump was set to announce his self-appointment as chairman of the board. The center has said the decision was financial.
Kennedy Center officials have indeed announced big cuts in the center’s budget, but Trump has criticized the center’s programming as too “woke” and Richard Grenell, the Trump-appointed Kennedy Center’s interim executive director has slashed the center’s “Social Impact” programming.
Since Trump’s takeover in February, numerous artists have either canceled their scheduled performances or have been canceled.
Watch a video of the performance below.
