Broadway musical Dead Outlaw announced Friday that it had cancelled its upcoming concert performance at the Library of Congress the day after the Trump administration fired the librarian.
A brief statement from the show, which won seven Tony nominations this month, said it had decided not to perform in the library “when I learned to finish off Congressional librarian Dr. Carla Hayden.”
Dr. Hayden, the first African-American and the first woman to head the facility, was “a fierce advocate for maintaining American cultural memory and the great champion of the Broadway community,” the statement said.
No other details are provided.
The Library of Congress had planned to hold a free concert on Monday afternoon. It features the cast and members of the creative team from “Dead Outlaw” who will perform a selection of shows at Coolidge Auditorium.
Cancellation is the latest indication of growing tensions between the arts community and some of the Trump administration. President Trump once again proposed to eliminate the National Fund for the Arts, and last week the donations began withdrawing grants from arts organizations around the country.
This week, some members of the “Reshi Micerable” cast were said to be planning to not perform at the gala performance at the Kennedy Center, where Trump, who took over the center, had planned to attend. Earlier this year, a series of artists and speakers cancelled engagement at the Kennedy Center after Trump historically wiped out and chaired Biden's committee of appointees.
Dr. Hayden's firing on Thursday sparked quick rage from Democrats. Many praised her work, including New York's leader Hake Jeffries, a Democratic minority leader who described Dr. Hayden as the library's “skilled, principled and identified” leader.
She was appointed Congress' 14th Librarian by President Barack Obama in 2016. She was fired one year before the end of her ten-year term.
Cindy Hall, president of the American Library Association, condemned the fire in a statement, saying Dr. Hayden's “sudden unfair dismissal is a shame for the scope and wide range of work he undertook in her role as head of the Library of Congress.”
Dr. Hayden was fired by Trent Morse, deputy director of White House officials, in a two-letter email. The notification did not cite the cause.
The Library of Congress is the latest federal cultural institution to fire from Trump. In February, he suddenly fired Colleen Shogan, the head of the National Archives, appointed by former President Joseph R. Biden, without citing any reason. And in an executive order in March, he criticized the Smithsonian facility and directed Vice President J.D. Vance to try to influence its council.
Jennifer Schusler contributed the report.
