Kennedy Center Plans Fall Reopening, 50th Anniversary Celebration

WASHINGTON, DC — The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is planning a reopening in September as part of its 50th anniversary celebration. With a growing number of people getting the COVID-19 vaccine, the center will reopen all its stages and campus for a year-long series of events.

The Kennedy Center will continue standard coronavirus safety protocols, including requiring mask-wearing, disinfecting surfaces, mandating six feet of physical distancing, and reducing points of contact with measures like online ticketing.

“I can think of no better way to reemerge from the darkness of these last many months than to reopen with a vibrant, season-long celebration of the center’s rich history and the bright future of the arts in our nation,” Kennedy Center President Deborah F. Rutter said Tuesday in a news release.

Spring and summer 2021 activity as well as the full 2021–22 seasons for theater, dance, ballet, jazz, young audiences, Fortas Chamber Music, NSO, and WNO will be announced and go on sale in the coming weeks and months.

Last June, the Kennedy Center announced that it was canceling all previously announced events and performances through the end of this year.

In recent weeks, the District of Columbia has relaxed capacity restrictions across local businesses and concert venues.

Starting on May 1, seated live entertainment theaters in D.C. will be allowed to host events at 25-percent capacity — both indoors and outdoors — and live music can occur outdoors at restaurants. Recreation centers, libraries, museums and non-essential retail will be able to operate indoors and outdoors at 50-percent capacity, up from the previous capacity limit of 25 percent.

The newly increased capacity limits pertain to all venues, including the 9:30 Club and the Anthem, which have scheduled concert dates and opened ticket sales for shows later this year.

The Kennedy Center’s 50th anniversary season will feature four artist residencies; Washington National Opera-led series of operatic works inspired by D.C.’s many monuments and iconic buildings; seven commissioned works for the National Symphony Orchestra; the premieres of eight social justice works from the Center’s Cartography Project; and new play commissions under the auspices of the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival.

“At the heart of our planning and preparation, even as we continue to navigate health and financial challenges, is the desire to present a season and a fresh patron experience that taps into our 50 years of history as the National Cultural Center,” Rutter said. “We will reawaken those stories and ensure that all are invited to participate and tell us their own. But we also want to continue shining a light on the future of the performing arts with works and initiatives that speak to the promise of America’s greatest asset — the human spirit and diversity of our artists.”

To open the 50th anniversary season in September, the Kennedy Center will host two consecutive weekends of performances and free activities on the REACH campus.

To mark the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, remember the people who died from COVID-19 and honor the health care workers who have been on the front lines throughout the pandemic, a commemorative program featuring the National Symphony Orchestra and conducted by NSO music director Gianandrea Noseda will take place in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall on Sept. 10.

“As we celebrate the first 50 years of the Kennedy Center and the outstanding cultural and artistic leaders of that time, we also want to ask ourselves, ‘who are the direct torchbearers of their legacies?’" Marc Bamuthi Joseph, vice president and artistic director of social impact for the Kennedy Center, said in a statement.

Following a national call to the public for nominations, the Kennedy Center plans to announce the Kennedy Center Next 50 in September. These people will take part in Kennedy Center programs, forums, residencies and events.

The Kennedy Center is inviting the public to take part in the process of naming these "culture-shapers" by submitting suggestions for The Kennedy Center Next 50 through the Kennedy Center website and Facebook page starting April 15.

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