Kennedy Center Cancels Tour of Children's Musical Finn, From Creator of Doc McStuffins and Vampirina

The Kennedy Center, which recently appointed President Donald J. Trump as chairman of its board, has canceled a tour of the acclaimed children’s musical Finn.

The story of a young shark who wants to live his truth while still upholding family traditions, Finn premiered at the Kennedy Center in November 2024. The show has a book and lyrics by Emmy-winning Doc McStuffins creator Chris Nee and score by Michael Kooman and Christopher Dimond, whose penned 150 tunes for Nee’s animated series Vampirina, and penned the songs for Romantics Anonymous.

Kooman, Dimond, and Nee announced the tour’s cancellation on the show’s social media page. “While not a surprised given the events of last week, it is a heartbreak. But we will not be silenced. And we will not abandon the kids we wrote this show for. They are already under attack from every side,” they said. According to published reports, the Kennedy Center said the tour was canceled for financial reasons.

Earlier this week, Finn earned a Helen Hayes Award nomination for Outstanding New Musical or Play. Directed by Adrienne Campbell-Holt, the production had choreography by Billy Bustamante, music direction by Nathan Beary Blustein, orchestrations by August Eriksmoen, set design by You-Shin Chen, costume design by Ann Closs-Farley, lighting design by E-hui, sound design by Justin Schmitz, projections design by Patrick W. Lord, and props design by Luke Hartwood.

Finn starred Dylan Toms (Finn), Kalen Robinson (Seasil), Kara-Tameika Watkins (Auntie), Caelyn D. Williams (Aggie), Jamie Goodson (Ensemble/Lola), Ben Ribler (Ensemble/Bruce, Finn u/s), and Deimoni Brewington (Ensemble/Roscoe). The understudies were Simone Brown, Jordan Essex, and Caroline Graham.