Seats Left Empty on Smithsonian Board as Strain With White House Persists

The New York Times: A month after the terms of two Smithsonian trustees ended, their replacements have yet to be named as the traditional process of filling its governing Board of Regents has slowed in the wake of President Trump’s efforts to gain control of the institution. John Fahey and the board’s chairwoman, Risa J. Lavizzo-Mourey, left the 17-member panel on March 2,

UNT Dean Cites Politics As Reason Behind Canceled Victor Quiñonez Show

www.artnews.com: The decision to cancel a solo exhibition featuring anti-ICE art at the University of North Texas art school was an “institutional directive,” Dean Karen Hutzel said in newly leaked transcripts of a faculty meeting. First reported by the Denton Record-Chronicle, the transcripts show Hutzel declining to identify the directive’s source while warning colleagues to expect a “media storm.”

Trump's Attempt to Axe SAVE Student-Loan Plan Gets Shut Down in Court

Business Insider: Student-loan borrowers might not lose a key affordable repayment plan just yet. On Friday, a court dismissed a proposed settlement announced by the Department of Education and the state of Missouri in December that would have eliminated the SAVE income-driven repayment plan ahead of schedule.

Presidents on Broadway

New York Theater: Only four of the 45 presidents of the United States were born in February, but they include the two most revered, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, who are also the two most frequently depicted on Broadway. Both are in shows currently. The other two February presidents, Ronald Reagan and even William Henry Harrison, have also been on Broadway.

Kennedy Center was always in the political spotlight but not like this

Los Angeles Times: Last Tuesday, Philip Glass withdrew the delayed premiere in June of his latest symphony, No. 15. Originally meant to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 2022, it is a portrait of Abraham Lincoln, but the composer decided the values of the current Kennedy Center were “in direct conflict to the message of the symphony,” which is inspired by Lincoln’s 1838 Lyceum Address.

Trump appoints James McCrery and others to U.S. Commission of Fine Arts

www.archpaper.com: Members of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) appointed by the Biden administration were terminated by the Trump administration in October 2025. Every CFA seat was vacant until this month, when the Trump administration began appointing members to the government agency tasked with reviewing design plans.

Enter ‘Stage Right:’ Central Ohio home to nation’s only conservative theater company

NBC4 WCMH-TV: If all the world’s a stage, Robert Cooperman feels half of it is missing its spotlight. “Artists will look at society or an issue in our culture and say, ‘I don’t like that,’ and they might write a play about it. … Why can’t people who are more conservative do that?” Cooperman said. “When we do it, it’s considered political. And when the other side does it, it’s considered art.”

Sonia De Los Santos Cancels Kennedy Center Performances Due To 'Current Climate'

www.broadwayworld.com: Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Sonia De Los Santos has canceled her scheduled performances at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, citing concerns about the current climate at the venue, according to The Washington Post.

South Park Creators Explain Trump Attacks: Politics Is Pop Culture Now

variety.com: “South Park” creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker recently spoke to The New York Times about their decision to turn the latest episodes of their Comedy Central series into full blown Donald Trump takedowns. The show has been criticizing MAGA nonstop in Seasons 27 and 28

South Park Takes Security Seriously Amid Rising Threats

www.hollywoodreporter.com: The last time a security guard was spotted at South Park‘s production offices in Marina del Rey was when Eric Cartman got deputized in 1998’s “Chickenlover” episode and started pulling over tricycles and ticketing cows. Respect mah authoritah!

AFM 2025: Immigration Anxiety Shadows Indy Film Market

www.hollywoodreporter.com: For many international executives landing at LAX this week, attending the American Film Market isn’t just about closing presales or packaging their next feature — it’s about getting into the country in the first place.

Is Leonard Bernstein's love song to the White House an elegy now?

The Forward: In 2017, Cynthia Erivo, clad in white like a bride, took the stage at Washington, D.C.’s Kennedy Center to perform “Take Care of This House.” It was opening night of the National Symphony Orchestra’s season, and Erivo was singing First Lady Abigail Adams’ solo from the little-known Leonard Bernstein and Alan Jay Lerner musical 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

White House Movie Theater Demolished in President Trump Ballroom Build

www.hollywoodreporter.com: The White House family theater, which has held movie screenings for Presidents, their families and other invited guests for decades, is among the structures removed from the East Wing as part of President Trump’s $300 million ballroom project.

The Demolished White House Theater Where Presidents Watched Movies

After the Final Curtain: When I first photographed historic theaters, I learned that much of their power comes from what we don’t see — the rooms behind the walls, the quiet rituals that make them more than just places to sit and watch a screen. The White House Family Theater was one of those spaces.

The Battle Over Space Shuttle Discovery Keeps Getting Crazier

gizmodo.com: Texas Senators have launched an all-out crusade to break Space Shuttle Discovery into pieces and move it to their state. This iconic spacecraft has been on display at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., for more than a decade, and the institution isn’t giving it up without a fight.

America Ferrera Calls on Hollywood to Find Courage in Political Moment

www.hollywoodreporter.com: The Critics Choice Association held its 5th annual Celebration of Latino Cinema & Television in L.A. on Friday, coming at a particularly fraught time for a community that is being specifically targeted by the Trump administration.

Where are Kennedy Center audiences going?

NPR: Many of us have a venue we love - a theater or concert space where we really feel at home. But what do you do if that place goes through radical change? Well, that is what has been happening with audiences here in the D.C. region ever since President Trump took over the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts eight months ago. Trump abruptly fired its leaders, dismissed board members, criticized past programming as too woke. NPR's Elizabeth Blair wanted to find out where the fans are going.

Government Shutdown Threatens to Slow Live Nation/Ticketmaster Antitrust Suits

TicketNews: The federal government’s antitrust lawsuits against Live Nation and Ticketmaster are moving forward despite attempts by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to pause proceedings during the government shutdown.

California governor Gavin Newsom slams Trump’s new film tariff call: “100% stupid"

Screen: California governor Gavin Newsom has hit back at US president Donald Trump’s renewed threat of a 100% tariff on films made outside the US, with his press office describing the proposal as “100% stupid.”

Hollywood Isn't Sure How Seriously to Take Trump's Renewed Tariff Talk

variety.com: On Truth Social, the president wrote that the “movie making business has been stolen from the United States of America, by other Countries, just like stealing ‘candy from a baby’,” adding that he would be “imposing a 100% Tariff on any and all movies that are made outside the U.S.”