While President Donald Trump promised an end to drag performances aimed at children at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, the theater’s upcoming season includes multiple shows featuring men dressing as women.
The Kennedy Center announced its 2025-26 season on Monday, including “Chicago,” “Moulin Rouge! The Musical,” “Mrs. Doubtfire” and Monty Python’s “Spamalot.”
“Chicago,” which happens to be the longest-running American musical in Broadway history, is scheduled to begin performances at the center next spring.
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One of the characters in the musical, Mary Sunshine, is traditionally played by a man in drag; however, the Broadway production allows performers of “any age, any gender identity, any ethnicity” to audition.
Two-time RuPaul’s Drag Race winner Jinkx Monsoon made his Broadway debut when he assumed the role of Matron “Mama” Morton, as Playbill reported in January 2023.
Based on the 2001 Baz Luhrmann film, “Moulin Rouge! The Musical” also features a drag performer character named “Baby Doll.” Jeigh Madjus, a drag queen, made his Broadway debut when he was cast as the character.
Male characters dress as women in “Mrs. Doubtfire” and “Spamalot.” But in the latter case, this is often used for comedic effect. While “Mrs. Doubtfire” revolves around a divorced father pretending to be a woman, the man only dresses as a female nanny so he could spend more time with his children, not for any ideological or sexual reason.
Jeffrey Finn, vice president of artistic programming and executive producer of theatre, promised in the Monday press release that “a great theater season of excitement and joy” is coming to the Kennedy Center.
“I couldn’t be more proud to feature a season filled with Best Musicals from Broadway, including three Tony–winning original Best Musicals: The Outsiders, Moulin Rouge! The Musical, and Spamalot,” he stated.
The Kennedy Center did not immediately respond to The Christian Post’s request for comment.
After Trump was elected as the new chair of the center, he announced in a February post on Truth Social that he had terminated multiple members of the Board of Trustees, including the chairman. The president said these members did not “share our Vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture.”
“The Kennedy Center is an American Jewel, and must reflect the brightest STARS on its stage from all across our Nation,” the president declared. “For the Kennedy Center, THE BEST IS YET TO COME!”
Trump also vowed that the Kennedy Center would no longer expose children to drag performers, appearing to allude to a Dragtastic Dress-up event last year that featured a story hour with drag queen Tara Hoot. The invitation for the gathering also advertised drag performances from Pretty Rik E and Bombshell Monroe.
“LGBTQ+ youth under 18 and their parents/caregivers are invited to come learn the history of drag and watch these incredible performers strut their stuff,” the invite for the event reads.
Events advertised as family-friendly that feature drag performers have received criticism from parents and lawmakers who say they expose children to sexualized content, such as men dressed in revealing outfits dancing for money.
The content of one “A Drag Queen Christmas,” advertised as family-friendly, prompted Florida authorities to threaten to revoke the licenses of the James L. Knight Center in Miami and the Plaza Live in 2022 if the venues allowed minors to attend the show.
The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) sent letters to the venue operators at the time following an announcement from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, saying that DBPR had launched an investigation after receiving “multiple complaints about a sexually explicit performance marketed to children held in Fort Lauderdale.”
During the drag-themed Christmas show’s tour throughout the United States, the DBPR became aware of lewd activity conducted at these performances in front of minors.
One part of the show involved a man wearing prosthetic breasts accepting tips from the audience, and, at one point, he asked a child in the audience, “Are you reaching for my [breasts]? Are you hungry?”
In a separate sketch, “Screwdolph the Red-Nippled Reindeer” told children’s stories about Santa while male actors danced suggestively as sexual videos played in the background.
The Texas Family Project shared footage in December 2022 of another drag show that was advertised as an event for all ages. The video shows a young girl in the audience as a man on stage dances suggestively and sings, “Under the mistletoe/ Yes, everybody knows/ We will take off our clothes.”
At one point in the video, one of the drag performers can be seen stroking a young girl’s hair. The sequence of events caught on video led to the venue canceling its remaining drag show performances through the rest of the year.
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: samantha.kamman@christianpost.com. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
