‘Friday night massacre:’ Goodspeed among hundreds of theaters nationwide to have NEA grants canceled
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The Goodspeed Opera House located on the Connecticut River in East Haddam.
Local organizations, including Goodspeed Musicals in East Haddam and Yale Repertory Theater in New Haven, are losing major support from the National Endowment for the Arts since the Trump administration started canceling grants late last week.
Late Friday, arts organization administrators across the country received an email informing them that NEA grants they had been awarded were being canceled.
Donna Lynn Hilton, artistic director of the Goodspeed, said she was among those who received the email at about 8:30 p.m. Friday.
The email said the NEA’s $60,000 grant for a new musical, “Little Miss Perfect,” which Goodspeed has been developing with another theater in Maryland for several years, was rescinded.
Because the project is “still very much a work in progress,” Hilton said only a small fraction of the $60,000 has been spent.
Now, Goodspeed needs to find other funding sources in order for development of the musical to proceed.
“We've been at it for quite some time, and had hoped to program it in the next year, but I think with this news, that's on hold,” Hilton said.
“Little Miss Perfect” is a song written by Joriah Kwamé, which went viral during the COVID-19 pandemic after it was performed by popular musical artist Taylor Louderman.
“It’s a bit of an anthem about being expected to be perfect and not being able to live your true self,” Hilton said. “And it just blew up. It has been heard literally millions of times around the globe, and very quickly resonated with young people. And it's just a really, really important song. And we commissioned Joriah to turn the song into a full-length musical.”
Hilton hopes the Maryland theater’s version of “Little Miss Perfect” can proceed. After that, she will determine whether it needs to be further developed at Goodspeed’s second stage in Chester, or whether it’s ready for a full production at the opera house.
“We will likely file an appeal of this grant recension,” Hilton said. “It's just a piece of what would be a much larger budget. But in these times, every dime counts, and I will not abandon the piece because of this, but it certainly does mean that we'll have to work hard to fill the gap.”
Hilton said Goodspeed is seeking donations from members and subscribers, as well as corporate support. Through the state’s Neighborhood Assistance Act, businesses can make contributions to theaters that offset their tax bill to the state, she said.
“It’s a really great way for businesses to invest in their community, and something that I hope we’re going to see an uptick of in a time like this when other support is going away.”
On Friday, President Donald Trump proposed eliminating the NEA, the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), as part of the administration’s 2026 discretionary budget request.
"The proposed cuts to the National Endowment for the Arts threaten every congressional district in the country — including our own," said Amanda Roy, interim CEO of the Greater Hartford Arts Council. "NEA funding supports programs that communities depend on for healing, education and connection. The arts are not extras; they are essential. They create jobs, strengthen local economies, and, most importantly, help us make meaning of our experiences, build empathy and express who we are."
Roy continued: "This funding supports performances, galleries, museums, classrooms and community spaces. The arts organizations and artists in our region and beyond will feel the profound impact of these cuts, and the effects will ripple throughout our communities. We urge lawmakers to preserve the NEA, NEH and IMLS, and protect the arts, culture and educational resources that keep our communities strong."
Hundreds of theaters across the country were targeted in what was called a “Friday night massacre. Among them was the Yale Repertory Theater, which learned it had lost a $30,000 grant from the NEA to develop and produce a stage adaptation of the Zora Neale Hurston short story “Spunk,” according to the New York Times.
The fate of the NEA remains unclear, but Hilton believes theaters need to find new funding sources, as federal grants supporting the arts have been dwindling for years.
“I think the president is very serious about eliminating the National Endowment for the Arts,” Hilton said. “That money is critical to organizations all across the state, across the country, but I worry most about Connecticut.”
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