Seattle Children’s Theatre Reconsidering Kennedy Center Run Of YOUNG DRAGON

Seattle Children’s Theatre is reviewing whether to move forward with a planned engagement of YOUNG DRAGON: A BRUCE LEE STORY at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, as artists and institutions continue to distance themselves from the venue during the second Trump administration.

The production is scheduled to play the Kennedy Center from April 11 to April 19, following its Seattle run at SCT’s Eve Alvord Theater from February 19 through March 15. The new work for young audiences follows a young Bruce Lee as he begins life in a new country.

“We are eager for this important story to be told as widely as possible, and the Kennedy Center reaches a large number of families, schools, and young audiences,” a spokesperson for Seattle Children’s Theatre told KUOW. “However, we recognize that circumstances have changed, and we are in conversation this week with SCT’s cast and creative team to assess the path forward.”

Managing Director Kevin Malgesini is expected to lead discussions with the Young Dragon team. The theatre said it would not comment further on whether the engagement will proceed until those conversations are complete.

The announcement comes amid a growing list of cancellations and institutional departures tied to the Kennedy Center. In March 2025, Broadway producer Jeffrey Seller said Hamilton would not return to the venue, citing opposition to changes in staff and programming. More recently, Mexican American musician Sonia De Los Santos canceled her February performances, stating that the current climate at the center no longer felt welcoming to her, her band, or audiences.

Last week, the Washington National Opera approved a resolution to move its performances out of the Kennedy Center, ending an affiliation that has spanned more than 50 years. The opera’s board of trustees voted January 9 to pursue early termination of its agreement with the venue, with the goal of resuming operations as an independent nonprofit organization. Opera leadership cited declining ticket sales, reduced donor support, and artist withdrawals over the past year.

Washington National Opera said it plans to relocate performances from the Kennedy Center’s Opera House as soon as feasible and will reduce the number of productions next season as a cost-control measure. 

Additional cancellations have followed the Kennedy Center’s December announcement of plans to rebrand the venue as the “Trump-Kennedy Center,” a move scholars have said would require congressional approval. Those withdrawals include jazz musician Chuck Redd, jazz ensemble The Cookers, Grammy-winning banjo player Béla Fleck—who canceled three appearances with the National Symphony Orchestra—and composer Stephen Schwartz, who had been expected to host an opera gala.