This past Sunday evening, excellence and art took center stage as the cultural heartbeat of the nation welcomed the brightest stars of a generation for the 2025 Kennedy Center Honors. It’s a night dedicated to artistry, impact, and legacy, and it all began on the red carpet. The parade of cultural icons, in comparatively conservative black tie high fashion, arrived to celebrate achievement and artistry. And for the first time, Mark on the Arts was invited to be a part of the historic event.
This year’s recipients emerged from the worlds of film, stage, and music. Country superstar George Strait, America’s favorite underdog Sylvester Stallone, Tony Award Winning stage and film actor Michael Crawford, recording legend Gloria Gaynor, and rock icons KISS were honored for their contribution to their industries and our common fabric of American arts and culture for the last 40+ years.
And they all graced the red carpet along with other luminaries who were presenting or performing, including Oscar winning composer Bill Conti, television and senatorial hopeful Dr. Oz, Frasier star Kelsey Grammer, and Mindfreak star/Vegas mainstay illusionist Criss Angel. Most engaged with the entire press corps, anxious to tout the aid that President Trump is raising to invest in preserving the decaying substructure of the Kennedy Center itself and to talk about their illustrious careers and the privilege of attending the affair.
But the decided media darlings of the evening were KISS. Paul Stanley waxed philosophically on the making of art and its value to the human spirit. Peter Criss was a gentle soul who shared the personal loss of their late original bandmate Ace Frehly, who passed in October. But Gene Simmons (donning python boots along with his black tie tux) as expected, was the smart-alecked life of the carpet, ready with a quick and cutting comeback for any barbed question the press corps asked.
“No matter what happens, “Simmons offered, “this president is going to be entertaining…..and by the way, all Presidents can’t do this. Some Presidents wouldn’t know what side of the stage to go on or off of.” When a reporter challenged him, “Did you have any specific one in mind?”, Simmons shot back ‘That’s leading the witness, Your Honor.” He compared Trump’s remodeling of the White House to the constant upkeep of Versailles. His memorable quote of the carpet? “He’s saving this building. Who gives a fuck if the columns are white or gold?”
And the press was definitely armed with pertinent questions about the myriad of controversial events surrounding the Kennedy Center 2025—the Trump takeover of the board, the mass resignations of the employees, the changes in the schedule, the audience and subscriber boycotts—but the stars were aligned on their responses and shot them all down. The common thread of the red carpet, iterated by every celebrity who participated, was that we are here tonight to celebrate Art. This is not the time to discuss politics. As Gene Simmons shot back, “What other Honoree in any other year have you ever asked who they voted for?” Many went on to tout the “hundreds millions dollars” President Trump has raised to repair the crumbling substructure of the landmark building, as well as the (yet to be substantiated) fact that they had raised “twice as much for the Kennedy Center this evening” than in the past.
For the first time in the history of the Honors, the President himself hosted the ceremony. After skipping all four ceremonies in his first term, Donald Trump took center stage in a house packed with (primarily) his friends and supporters (he joked, “If there is one thread that connects all of these amazing artists together, it is the word persistence. I can say that with a lot of the members of our audience, I know so many of you and you are persistent,” Trump praised, before adding, “many of you are miserable, horrible people.”) and was surprisingly at ease with his duties, even if he couldn’t resist taking a few swipes at former President Biden, or refer to “the beautiful Trump-Kennedy Center……I mean, the Kennedy Center” [Too soon, Donald. Too Soon]. He opened the evening center stage behind the Presidential podium, then retired to the Presidential Box with the Honorees, the First Lady, and the Speaker of the House Mike Johnson while his individual intros to the tribute segments were videotaped from the Oval Office. He returned to the stage to open and close the second act. A former reality show host (Simmons appeared on season one of his The Celebrity Apprentice), he is comfortable in front of the camera, but can’t resist touting his own achievements along with the honorees, with his usual repeat-it-for-emphasis rhetoric.
“The Kennedy Center is back, and it’s going to be bigger and better and more beautiful than ever before. You’ll see that,” he proclaimed. “You’ll see it taking place before your very eyes. It’s already started, and we raised over the last month, over $100 million. Can you believe it? They’ve never come close. So we’re doing… we’re doing well. We’re very proud of everything that’s been accomplished.”
But the tributes were epic, some of the most elaborate and star-studded ever. Conti conducted his Academy Award Winning score of Rocky with the esteemed Kennedy Center Orchestra, and his Tulsa Kings costars Neal MacDonough and Garrett Hedlund saluted Stallone with heartfelt “God, family, and America” toasts. After Kelsey Grammer opened with a customized version of “Hello, Michael”, Broadway performer Carrie Manolakos (Mamma Mia) sang “It Only Takes a Moment” from Hello Dolly and Broadway star Laura Osnes (Bonnie & Clyde, Bandstand) partnered with Christian singer David Phelps to perform a Phantom of the Opera medley for Crawford. Vince Gill, Miranda Lambert, and Brooks & Dunne saluted Strait’s country classics. Elle King, Deniece Williams and Debra Wynans were among the performers who saluted Gaynor’s disco and gospel Grammy winning music. But the unexpected hit of the evening was country superstar and 2021 Kennedy Center Honoree Garth Brooks who opened the KISS segment with “Shout It Out Loud”, followed by blues singer Marcus King singing “Beth” with a back-up string quartet. Cheap Trick closed the show with a tear-the-house-down, mock LED pyrotechnic version of “I Wanna Rock and Roll All Night”. (The versatile and adaptive multi-media set was one of the most impressive features of the night.) An empty chair with a medal draped across the back next to his surviving bandmates in the box held a posthumous fourth seat in honor of Frehley.
In addition to revamping the structure of the ceremonies, the President also commissioned a drastic redesign of the honorary medallion for the event. For the past 47 years of Honors, the familiar rainbow ribboned medals, designed by Ivan Chermayeff and crafted by a family business in DC, have adorned the shoulders of every recipient (some, like Brooks, wore theirs while they attended, presented, or performed this evening) since the inception of the event. In typical fashion, to place his stamp on the ceremony, this year President Trump commissioned Tiffany of New York to redesign the new medallion featuring the Kennedy Center etched in the center with the symbolic rainbow associated with the event discreetly extending above and below it on a more conservative navy blue ribbon.
An elaborate after-party filled the entire expanse of the Kennedy Center grand foyer, from the Eisenhower Theatre past the Opera House to the Symphany Hall where small plate buffets and unlimited wine and champagne bars lined the room.
The Kennedy Center Honors will air Tuesday, December 23, on CBS.
Photos courtesy of the Kennedy Center by Elman Studios