The Kennedy Center

Before anything else…

If I had to guess, I’d assume that if you live or lived in the Washington, DC area, there is a higher probability that you attended a performance than if you lived further away. Of course, if you were on a vacation or business trip to DC, you certainly might have taken in one of the awesome events at the Center.

In the interest of full disclosure, I’ve been to the Kennedy Center many times. My late father loved ballet, plays (especially musicals), symphonies, and opera. My late mother disliked all of it (especially musicals). Therefore, from the time I was a really little kid, I was dad’s “date” for all sorts of culture. My family lived in the DC area for a number of years. Even when I was away at school, if there was something dad wanted to see, he’d tell me to get on the Eastern Shuttle¹ after class on Friday, because “we need to see this”.

Y’all know that his royal nibs has taken over the Kennedy Center. And each and every one of you has the inherent right to call me a snob. At the Kennedy Center, the performances spanned the globe and presented a huge variety of cultural events. You can see what used to be performed here. My guess is that he wants to bring in some sort of military performance (not talking music here), not to mention a mega truck rally². This was NOT what John F. Kennedy intended regarding “art and culture”.

And I’m not the only one who shares this opinion. Sally Quinn recently sat down with The Guardian. If you don’t know who Sally Quinn is, and want to read my favourite anecdote about her, read the footnote³. Otherwise, here’s what she said:

They’re being very imaginative in their atrocities. They trashed the Kennedy Center and threw everybody out and put Laura Ingraham on the board. The Kennedy Center has been so much a part of the city for so long and suddenly it’s gone. They’ve lost in the first couple of weeks 50% of their ticket sales. They’re not getting the donations they used to get. All kinds of acts are cancelling and people I know say they won’t ever set foot in that place.

It’s unsurprising that ticket sales and donations are down. And if you assume that most attendees live locally in the DC area, I would expect that they’ll have a lot of trouble selling tickets going forward, especially if they change the type of programming for which the Kennedy Center is known.

The interesting thing is WHY Von Shitzenpants decided to decimate the Kennedy Center. When he was out and about in NYC in the 70’s and 80’s, he went to a lot of parties and galas, but you never saw him on the society pages have attended performances at the Met, nor plays on or off Broadway. He hates anything where he has to sit and be quiet and someone or something is the center of attention other than himself.

He carries a chip on his shoulder for never being accepted by the “art and culture” crowd. And this is his stick in their collective eye. He’s such a philistine that he lacks appreciation for the dynamics of a performance in an intimate concert hall. He doesn’t know the all-encompassing joy of hearing music in a hall with perfect acoustics. He’s never sat so close to the stage as to be able to see the sweat fly off the dancers. I could go on, but the bottom line is that his hatred for one type of person led him to destroy an incomparable institution.

You might be wondering why I decided to spend a post on the Kennedy Center.

1. I truly mourn its passing. So many great memories over many decades.

2. I’m still seething over the capitulation of the Senate Quislings. There is no area of government, or even the country, that His Royal Pettiness is unwilling to mess with. They should NEVER have given in.

3. I love the story about how Ben and Sally married.

1. The Eastern Shuttle used to be a veritable air taxi system. It flew between Boston, New York and Washington. You’d get on the line, and they’d fill up the plane. If there were people left, they’d bring up another plane. No reservations, and decades before TSA, back when flying was fun. They had a program call the 12-22 program. If you were between those ages, your flight cost your age.

2. There’s nothing wrong with mega truck rallies - they just do NOT belong at the Kennedy Center.

3. Sally Quinn is a journalist and author. She got her start in the Style section of the Washington Post. Back in the day, she knew everyone and everything, and was great at ferreting out information from her subjects. She is, to this day, involved with the hoi polloi in DC.

She was married to Ben Bradlee, Washington Post editor, most famous for publishing The Pentagon Papers, and overseeing Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein’s work on the Watergate coverup.

Ben was married to his second wife when he met Sally. Professionally. During the Watergate investigation, he was incredibly busy and it took a toll on his second marriage, which eventually ended in divorce. Meanwhile, Sally was sending Ben secret mash notes. She finally admitted she was his secret admirer. Ben, 20 years Sally’s senior, did not want a third marriage. He said that he would only marry her if there was a Polish pope. On Oct. 16, 1978, Cardinal Karol Wojtyla became pope, and Ben and Sally were married 4 days later.