Tuesday, July 7, 2026

Kennedy Center Cancels “Legally Blonde,” Andrew Lloyd Webber Shows Like “Cats” and “Phantom” Unlikely Given History

Share

★ Make Showbiz411 your Preferred Source on Google

What a crazy load of BS yesterday from the Kennedy Center.

Another musical is canceled, this time it’s the musical “Legally Blonde.” It was supposed to run there in mid June.

The producer of the show is Jeffrey Finn. He also happens to be the Vice President and Executive Producer of Theater at the Kennedy Center, as well as the Artistic Director of Broadway Center Stage, the company that produces touring musicals.

So, got that? He canceled the show from both sides.

The fact is, no one wants to perform at the Kennedy Center anymore. Just because you own the rights to a show doesn’t mean you can get people to put it on.

Not even for money.

“Hamilton” pulled out of the Kennedy Center, and so have many performers. They won’t come back until the old regime is restored.

Donald Trump recently said he wants shows like “Cats” and “Phantom of the Opera.” But that may be tricky since Andrew Lloyd Webber, who owns the shows he created, can’t stand Trump. Webber has a lot of money, he doesn’t the need the receipts from this Kennedy Center.

Sir Andrew told Trump to stop using his song, “Memory.” on the campaign trail. He once uninvited Trump from the premiere of “School of Rock” on Broadway. So it’s unlikely we’ll be seeing any of his shows produced under Donald Trump. They can always play at the nearby unencumbered National Theater.

CBS Sunday Morning Announces Report on the Troubled Kennedy Center — May Signal Network’s Break After 47 Years

Donate to Showbiz411.com

Showbiz411 is now in its 13th year of providing breaking and exclusive entertainment news. This is an independent site, unlike the many Hollywood trades that are owned by one company. To continue providing news that takes a fresh look at what's going on in movies, music, theater, etc, advertising is our basis. Reader donations would be greatly appreciated, too. They are just another facet of keeping fact based journalism alive.
Thank you


Roger Friedman
Roger Friedman
Roger Friedman is the founder and editor-in-chief of Showbiz411. He wrote the FOX411 column on FoxNews.com from 1999 to 2009, where he covered Michael Jackson, and previously wrote the "Intelligencer" column at New York magazine in the mid-1990s, where he covered the O.J. Simpson trial. He also edited Fame magazine. His bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, Vogue, Details, and the Miami Herald. He is a voting member of the Critics Choice Awards (Film and Television branches), and his movie reviews are tracked by Rotten Tomatoes. With D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, he co-produced the 2002 documentary "Only the Strong Survive," which screened at Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

Read more

In Other News