Les Miz Cast Plans to Boycott Trump at Kennedy Center

The cast of Les Miz.
Credit: Matthew Murphy

10 of the cast members of the touring production of Les Miserables are planning to boycott a June 11 benefit performance at the Kennedy Center because Trump will be there. Trumpy and the right-wing blogosphere are blowing their top. Richard Grenell, interim director of the Center, is furious and calling for a return of the McCarthy-era blacklist of artists suspected of disloyalty to the current regime. 

"Any performer who isn’t professional enough to perform for patrons of all backgrounds, regardless of political affiliation, won’t be welcomed," Grenell fumed in a statement. "In fact, we think it would be important to out those vapid and intolerant artists to ensure producers know who they shouldn’t hire — and that the public knows which shows have political litmus tests to sit in the audience....The Kennedy Center wants to be a place where people of all political stripes sit next to each other and never ask who someone voted for but instead enjoys a performance together" 

If they haven't already, the actors in question should issue of a statement of their own explaining their reasons. What Grenell is missing is that these actors are not intolerant of those with differing views. They are protesting Trump's anti-art and anti-diversity policies. The Center has cancelled all LGBTQ programming the week of Gay Pride in DC. Trump is cutting NEA grants for theaters across the country. He's threatening to defund Public TV and National Public Radio. All of those points should be put out and plainly stated. I'm guessing they would be happy to do the show if Trump weren't there and would not ask every audience member who they voted for. At least, I assume that's why they are boycotting. That's why they should put out their own statement. They should also point out that Les Miz is about the struggle of the poor for social justice and the overthrowing a corrupt government. Ironic, huh?

It might have been more effective for everybody to call in sick just before the performance and issue a statement afterwards. 

Oscar Predictions: Argo Triumphant

The Oscars are tomorrow night and I'm very excited. This is the first time in years I've seen all nine of the nominated Best Pictures (thanks to Amazon Prime for Beasts of the Southern Wild), all but one of the acting nominees (sorry, Naomi Watts), four of the five feature documentaries (thanks Netflix), all of the animated and live-action shorts. So here are my predictions and I hope to clean up at a friends' Oscar party.

Picture: Argo

I still don't get why this well-made, but conventional thriller is the expected winner. Is it the backlash against the Affleck snub? Is Lincoln too talky? Probably a combination. This is an action-oriented, feel-good picture that gets your heart racing. It certainly did mine in the closing sequence which departed from the truth significantly, I hear. I understand the disguised diplomats just sailed through the airport in Iran without a hitch, but that would have made for a boring ending.

Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln

Actress: Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook

There has been some movement among Oscar pundits that Emmanuelle Riva might be a surprise winner if Jessica Chastain and Jennifer Lawrence split the vote, but Lawrence will probably edge it out since she gets to cry and is American. Chastain had only that one tear at the end.

Catching Up with Oscar Best Pic Nominees

Quvenzhane Wallis and Dwight Henry in Beasts of the Southern Wild

For the first time in years I have a noble goal in sight: catching all of the nominees for Best Picture before the Oscar telecast. When there were only five candidates, it wasn't much of a problem. But then they went and stretched it to ten and I fell hopelessly behind--Did I really need to see The Blind Side? This year, there are nine--they changed the rules again last year so that the number can vary from five to ten for some weird statistical reason--and I have caught eight of them.