Dramatists Guild Of America Condemns Kennedy Center FINN Cancellation

The Dramatists Guild has released a statement expressing outrage at the Kennedy Center's cancelation of the upcoming tour of the family musical, Finn.

They wrote:

"The Dramatists Guild of America is outraged by the  Kennedy Center's announced cancellation of its scheduled production of the show Finn by Dramatists Guild members Michael Kooman and Christopher Dimond, and their co-author, Chris  Nee. We find it appalling that the Center is backing out of their commitment to bring this joyful  children's musical, one that they commissioned and produced to much acclaim, to communities  across the country. At its heart, Finn has a universal message of love and acceptance. 

The new board of the Kennedy Center claims the show was canceled for financial reasons, but we  find that difficult to believe considering the ideological purge now being employed by the new  administration, impacting every nook and cranny of the federal government. 

This is coming at a time when The Arts have been specifically targeted for attack, as is pointedly reflected by the new “guidelines” for grants that were announced by the National Endowment for  the Arts. The guidelines not only disqualify applicants who serve historically underserved  communities, including those theaters that value diversity and inclusion in their productions, but they  have also criminalized the process, if it is later judged that grantees have, in some way, violated the  new vague and overbroad guidelines. It is an obvious ploy to chill speech and intimidate applicants in  violation of the First Amendment. 

These actions go beyond censorship. It may set the stage for a constitutional crisis that transcends  parties and ideologies and cuts to the heart of our democracy. 

We stand in solidarity with Nee, and Kooman and Dimond, the Guild members who wrote Finn, as  well as the writers of other shows still scheduled for the Kennedy Center, like Parade by Guild  members Jason Robert Brown and Alfred Uhry, and Eureka Day by Guild member Jonathan Spector.  And we stand with all the other writers of shows that will have productions canceled by theaters that  will no longer be funded by the NEA. 

We will, however, do more than just stand with them and issue statements. In collaboration with our  non-profit affiliate, the Dramatists Legal Defense Fund, we intend to develop, finance, and employ  strategies to defend all dramatists from having their voices silenced. 

As was stated in a legal brief 27 years ago, in the landmark Supreme Court case of NEA v Finley, “...art plays a critical checking function, providing alternative perspectives on the world and often  challenging the status quo. This is why artists, along with universities and the press, are often the first  targets of repressive regimes.” 

Earlier this month, creators of the new children's musical Finn, Chris Nee, Michael Kooman, and Christopher Dimond, announced on Instagram that the upcoming Kennedy Center-produced tour had 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 followed news of Trump's overhaul the national cultural institution.