Kennedy Center Cancels Tour of New Children's Musical, FINN

Creators of the new children's musical Finn, Chris Nee, Michael Kooman, and Christopher Dimond, announced on Instagram today that the upcoming Kennedy Center-produced tour has been cancelled. The musical premiered at the Kennedy Center in December and has since been nominated for a Helen Hayes Award. It chronicles the coming-of-age journey of a young shark following his dreams. 

The announcement follows news of Trump's overhaul the national cultural institution.

The statement reads:

Dimond & Kooman & Nee are sad to announce that the Kennedy Center tour of our musical Finn was officially cancelled yesterday. While not a surprise given the events of the last week, it is a heartbreak. But we will not be silenced. And we will not abandon the kids we wrote this show for. They are already under attack from every side. We didn’t ask for this joy bomb of a show to be a part of the resistance, but here we are. Please repost, and follow us at @Finnmusical as we look to be loud in response to this administration’s desire to silence us.

Finn is a musical for young audiences that was commissioned by The Kennedy Center. We premiered in December to rave reviews and financial success leading to the show being chosen as the Kennedy Center’s next touring show. We were so excited that more kids would see themselves in the world of Finn and know they were perfect just as they are. At its heart it has a universal message of love and acceptance. The fact that that extends to sparkly boys seems to be controversial. The resistance starts here – with a shark who wants to let out his inner fish. Follow us @finnmusical

On Monday Finn received a Helen Hayes nomination for best new play or musical. Yesterday we got the call from the Kennedy Center closing down the tour. Today we resist, and ask you to join us. We will find a way to get Finn out to the audiences who need it most. Follow us @finnmusical so you’re ready to help us get loud.

UPDATE: Actors’ Equity Association, has since responded to the news:

We are outraged at the news that The Kennedy Center has canceled the upcoming tour of 'Finn', a musical for young audiences that just concluded an acclaimed run at the theatre. Since its founding, the Kennedy Center has represented the full breadth of American culture; It is disturbing to see the new leadership of this institution move so swiftly to suppress viewpoints they do not agree with. And it is beyond appalling that the art they find so dangerous is a joyful children’s musical encouraging young people to be true to themselves and follow their dreams. Actors’ Equity Association stands with the company of this production and is watching developments carefully. The union intends to fully enforce our contracts with The Kennedy Center. Equity reminds its members that if they experience any difficulty with their contracts at the Kennedy Center, they should reach out to their business reps immediately.

UPDATE: BroadwayWorld has learned that the cancelation of the Finn tour was purely a financial decision and the authors were notified prior to the Ambassador’s appointment as interim President.