Ric Grenell Makes His First Kennedy Center Booking... and It's Jesus

Jesus is to headline holiday show at the Kennedy Center. Well, not Jesus himself – casting him would be quite a coup by the Trump administration – rather, a show celebrating his time on Earth.

The announcement of the production was made by Richard Grenell, whom Trump named President of the Center, to a conservative gathering on Friday. According to the New York Times, Grenell said that the "big change" at the center would be that "we are doing a big, huge celebration of the birth of Christ at Christmas."

"How crazy is it to think that we're going to celebrate Christ at Christmas with a big traditional production, to celebrate what we are all celebrating in the world during Christmastime, which is the birth of Christ?" Grenell said at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Oxon Hill, Md.

Christmas events, the Times points out, have long been held at the center. "Last December, the center hosted 'A Candlelight Christmas' by the Washington Chorus; 'A Family Christmas' by the Choral Arts Society of Washington; and 'Go Tell It,' a Christmas celebration by the Alfred Street Baptist Church, a prominent Black church in Virginia. (On Sunday, the church said it would cancel its Christmas concert there this year because the Kennedy Center's new leaders stood in opposition to the 'longstanding tradition of honoring artistic expression across all backgrounds.')"

These were the openly gay Grenell's first public remarks since taking the position from Trump earlier this week when the President greeted the former ambassador to Germany with: "Ric shares my Vision for a GOLDEN AGE of American Arts and Culture, and will be overseeing the daily operations of the Center. NO MORE DRAG SHOWS, OR OTHER ANTI-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA – ONLY THE BEST. RIC, WELCOME TO SHOW BUSINESS!"

Mr. Trump did not attend the Kennedy Center Honors during his first term after being criticized by some of the honorees; but his moves in the past ten days have shocked the cultural world. In addition to the Alfred Street Baptist Church, a number of other cultural events have been canceled or the artist has withdrawn.

The Times writes that the The Manhattan Theater Club, a New York-based nonprofit, announced Friday that it would not bring "Eureka Day" to the Kennedy Center next month for a planned two-week run "due to financial circumstances." The play, a comedy about left-leaning parents whose vaccine hesitancy leads to a mumps outbreak, ended its Broadway run on Sunday.

In addition, comedian and content creator Issa Rae canceled an engagement at the Center, and some prominent artists resigned their positions as advisers there, including the star soprano Renée Fleming and the singer and songwriter Ben Folds.

Earlier this week it was announced that the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, D.C. will no longer be performing at the center in May.

"Mr. Grenell also said that contrary to some media reports, the decision to cancel a concert in May featuring the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, D.C., had been made before he and Mr. Trump took control of the Kennedy Center," adds the Times.

When asked if he would still welcome the Gay Men's Chorus at the center, Ric did not respond directly, saying: "If you're going to take public money, you have to prove that you actually can bring in revenue," he said. "We don't have any money."

But Grenell did say that they have big name artists in the works. "We already have them," he said.

Asked why Mr. Trump chose him for the job, Mr. Grenell described himself as a culture aficionado who appreciates "a whole bunch of different styles of art."

And when he was asked what he thought the ideal performance at the Kennedy Center would be, he said: "Dolly Parton." (Ms. Parton was honored at the Kennedy Center in 2006.)

He described his vision for the Kennedy Center in familiar terms: "We want to make art great again."