Rainbow flags. Rewritten lyrics. A Tony-winning producer. Five senators.
This wasn’t your usual evening at the Kennedy Center - it was political theatre in the most literal sense.
Last week, the storied Washington venue became the site of Love Is Love, a Pride Month Broadway concert that doubled as a pointed protest against President Trump’s recent takeover of the cultural institution. Staged in the Justice Forum, a 144-seat theatre within the Reach expansion, the event featured performances by LGBTQ+ Broadway stars and a closing number that repurposed Les Misérables' “One Day More” into a satirical swipe at the president himself.
Orchestrated by five Democratic senators - including John Hickenlooper, Tammy Baldwin, and Elizabeth Warren - and directed by Hamilton’s lead producer Jeffrey Seller, the concert was both symbolic and strategic: a cultural stand against Trump’s erasure of the Kennedy Center’s progressive legacy.
🎭 Why It Matters
Seller had already cancelled Hamilton’s planned 2026 run at the venue, citing misalignment with Trump’s agenda. This concert was the live-action follow-up: part celebration, part confrontation, and a clear message that artistic spaces are not neutral ground.
“This is our way of reoccupying the Kennedy Center,” Seller said. “We are here, we exist, and you can’t ignore us.”
While Trump and newly appointed Kennedy Center president Richard Grenell attempted to frame the event as a “first annual talent show,” the reality was far more pointed. With performances from Falsettos, The Wild Party, and I Am Harvey Milk, the night embodied queer joy and protest as creative tools.
🏳️🌈 Cultural Courage in Real Time
Unlike glossy corporate Pride campaigns, Love Is Love carried weight. It wasn’t a brand stunt or a rainbow overlay. It was a grassroots reclaiming of space at a time when LGBTQ+ representation at the federal level has been quietly stripped back. For artists and allies, this was resistance through repertoire - a defiant act wrapped in song, solidarity, and stagecraft.
Why Brands Should Care
This moment is a reminder that culture is never neutral, and that cultural institutions are battlegrounds for identity, inclusion, and narrative control. For brands that show up around Pride or position themselves as allies, Love Is Love is a case study in action over aesthetics. Visibility is not enough - it has to be meaningful, and sometimes, it has to be loud.