FINN is Coming to NAMT Festival of New Musicals Following Kennedy Center Cancellation

Following the cancellation of its Kennedy Center-produced tour, the children's musical Finn will be presented at NAMT's 37th Annual Festival of New Musicals. 

As BroadwayWorld previously reported, Finn, created by Chris Nee, Michael Kooman, and Christopher Dimond, was previously set to launch a Kennedy Center-produced tour, following its fun at the venue in December.  The announcement of the cancellation followed news of Trump's overhaul the national cultural institution.

Finn chronicles the coming-of-age journey of a young shark following his dreams. The musical will now be presented at NAMT's 37th Annual Festival of New Musicals, which is taking place from October 23-24, 2025 at New World Stages.

Following the cancellation of the tour, the creators of the musical stated:

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.