The Broadway production of Dead Outlaw has canceled a planned appearance at the Library of Congressafter President Donald Trump fired Dr. Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress, on Thursday.
In a statement shared with Entertainment Weekly, the Tony-nominated company said, "Regretfully, the Broadway production of Dead Outlaw has decided to cancel Monday's planned appearance at the Library of Congress upon learning of the termination of Dr. Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress."
"Dr. Hayden has been a fierce advocate for preserving America's cultural memory and a great champion of the Broadway community," the statement concluded.
Monday's now-canceled event was billed as "an exclusive performance of selections from the show" at the institution's Coolidge Auditorium in Washington, D.C.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(webp)/librarian-of-congress-Carla-Hayden-050925-5432dd4c50c94cae8965954bcccf708f.jpg "Broadway's 'Dead Outlaw' cancels Library of Congress performance in protest of librarian's firing (1)")
Hayden became the first African American and first woman to serve as the head of the institution when she was appointed as the 14th librarian of Congress by President Barack Obama in 2016.
Along with her many duties, Hayden led the "Of the People" initiative, which aimed to bring more works from Black, Indigenous, Hispanic, Latino, Asian American, Pacific Islander, and other communities of color into the library's collections.
Trump's firing of Hayden was especially controversial because of the method chosen to deliver the news: a two-sentence email from Trent Morse, the deputy director of White House personnel.
Hayden had one year left in her decade-long tenure.
The Dead Outlaw cancellation isn't the only show of support for Hayden; others shared their disapproval of the move as soon as the news became public.
"President Trump's ignorant decision will impact America's libraries, our copyrighted economic interests, and service to the American people by threatening support for Congress," Rep. Joe Morelle (D-NY) wrote in a post on X. "His decision is a complete disgrace."
Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey added: "Donald Trump just fired my dear friend Dr. Carla Hayden — the Librarian of Congress — via email. This is disgraceful. The Library of Congress represents some of the best America has to offer. Equal access to learning for all."
New Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich shared a similar sentiment, writing: "While President Trump wants to ban books and tell Americans what to read — or not to read at all, Dr. Hayden has devoted her career to making reading and the pursuit of knowledge available to everyone,"
On Wednesday,CNN also reportedthat 10 to 12 performers in the current touring company ofLes Misérablesplanned to boycott the show on the night of June 11, when Trump plans to attend. Sources also told CNN that the cast was given the option not to perform that night and that both leading actors, as well as members of the ensemble, will be exercising that choice.
It was the latest back-and-forth in the tension between the arts community and Trump, of which the Kennedy Center has become a particular point of contention. Shortly after taking office in January, Trump made good on his promise to install himself as chairman of the board of trustees of the Kennedy Center, which was first established in 1964.
Trump had previously announced on social media that he planned to make the performing arts institution a "very special and exciting place." He also told reporters, "I want to make sure it runs properly. We don’t need woke at the Kennedy Center. Some of the shows were terrible. They were a disgrace that they were even put on. So I’ll be there until such time as it gets to be running right."
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Dead Outlaw, which opened at the Longacre Theatre in April following a celebrated stint off-Broadway, is the brainchild of Emmy-winner David Yazbek, and sees him reunite with book writer Itamar Moses for the first time since their 2017 Tony award-winning musical,The Band’s Visit.
This time around, the pair are singing a much different, more raucous tune as they transform outlaw Elmer McCurdy's larger-than-life story into a rollicking, country rock concert complete with a whole lot of laughs and a surprising amount of heart.
The original production nabbed seven Tony Awardsnominations this year, including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Direction of a Musical, Best Original Score, a Best Leading Actor in a Musical nod for star Andrew Durand, Best Featured Actor in a Musical for Jeb Brown, and Best Featured Actress in a Musical for Julia Knitel.
