The president of the United States of America really cares what’s onstage at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Since President Donald Trump took over control of the institution in February, multiple shows have been canceled by artists and/or moved to other D.C. venues. Within three months of this seismic shift at the cultural institution, nothing is shocking.

The “Les Misérables” preview show on June 11 may offer a lesson for institutions that receive public funding. Trump is essentially selling access whilst taking in a show. For $2 million a ticket, you can sit in a performance box, attend a VIP fundraiser and take a photo with Trump. If you don’t care about your view of the show, it’s only $100,000 for the fundraiser, photo op and non-performance box ticket.

This meet-and-greet fundraiser isn’t a first, but combining it with a Broadway show is something performers/politicians at his level never, ever do. And now there is news that several performers in the cast are sitting out the night Trump and friends are scheduled to enjoy a show and rake in big bucks.

This is neither surprising nor shocking. Trump has a long record with musicals and money.

What’s more interesting than POTUS using “Les Mis” to make a point and make a buck is another show coming to the same institution the following month. “Sesame Street The Musical” is at the Kennedy Center July 10-Aug. 31. 

Sesame Street is in the news for not-so-sunny reasons.

On May 2, the Education Department told the Corporation for Public Broadcasting that its 2020-2025 Ready To Learn grant had been terminated, effective immediately.

The CPB then told PBS and 44 stations in 28 states and D.C. to stop work immediately. The CPB press release notes: “Historically, grants from Ready To Learn have helped fund such well-known shows as ‘Sesame Street,’ ‘Reading Rainbow,’ and ‘Clifford the Big Red Dog.’ Shows funded by the current grant include the award-winning ‘Molly of Denali,’ ‘Work It Out Wombats!’ and ‘Lyla in the Loop.’”

If you weren’t carefully following the news, you might have thought “Sesame Street” was canceled. A viral and fake Elmo post on LinkedIn helped spread the rumor and possibly earn some outrage. 

“Sesame Street” has not been canceled. PBS stations are not going off the air. Why? Trump might be a local PBS affiliate watcher.

On Saturday, May 3, at 9 p.m., WLRN, the PBS affiliate of South Florida, the broadcast area of Mar-a-Lago, aired 1979’s “Escape From Alcatraz.” It re-aired on Sunday, May 4, at 11 a.m.

On Sunday, May 4, at 6:55 p.m., Trump posted on Truth Social: “REBUILD, AND OPEN ALCATRAZ!” 

Trump was at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday, May 3. We don’t know if he watched television that night. The White House called a lid on that day’s pool report at 3:56 p.m. 

When first asked about using the now-tourist attraction to again house prisoners, Trump said, “It’s an idea I had.” Ideas come from somewhere; why not 46-year-old movies starring famous 2012 Republican National Convention speaker Clint Eastwood?

You catch more flies with honey. I learned that from “Sesame Street” (shoutout to Baby Bear).

So here’s the leap: Maybe it’s time a PBS affiliate station restaged a version of “Paris Is Out!” — the play Trump produced as a 23-year-old — to get in his good graces. There’s a venue that might be amenable to this too!

It’s not too much of a leap to surmise there’s no Make Alcatraz Great Again discourse without the Don Siegel-directed thriller airing on a PBS station in Florida on a Saturday night. If Trump is not opposed to tuning in to public television, it’s fair to think he would tune in for a televised version of the musical he produced 50-plus years ago.

Before his first real estate deals, the young Trump promised to invest $70,000 — half of the production’s $140,000 budget — for the new play (he actually invested $50,000). The show’s Playbill read, “Donald J. Trump, who joins Mr. Black in this production as Associate Producer is making his theatrical debut. He is in the investment and real estate business, and will be associated with Mr. Black in his new musical, W.C.”

The 1970 play ran for 96 performances after 16 previews between Feb. 2 and April 18 of that year. But just because it didn’t work on Broadway doesn’t mean it couldn’t work at The Kennedy Center. 

The reviews of “Paris Is Out!” weren’t kind. But they weren’t horrible either. It appears that the family comedy was middle-of-the-road material with some very talented performances. It’s not dissimilar to the reviews of the longest-running show at The Kennedy Center, “Shear Madness.”

Regardless of its artistic merits, the cultural relevance of “Paris Is Out!” cannot be overstated: The president of the United States of America produced a Broadway play! We, the public, should see that play!

Regardless of your politics, there’s something worth learning by seeing this play. The Kennedy Center, even without Trump at the helm, would be a worthy home for this restaging. And PBS makes sense as the network to air one of these performances, even without Trump attempting to cancel its other programming.

PBS already has a series dedicated to airing Broadway productions. “The Great Performances” series regularly features shows Trump already likes, including one he really loves: “Cats.” If “Cats” is good enough, or at least culturally relevant enough for PBS, so is “Paris Is Out!” 

There’s a place for populist entertainment, even in the most revered places of cultural gatekeeping. “Armageddon” does belong in the Criterion Collection. The Celine Dion “33 ⅓” book is a worthy entry into that series. “Iron Man” earned its place in the National Film Registry. 

It would not hurt either The Kennedy Center’s or PBS’ reputation to make this happen. There’s precedent for this type of theater and television at the venue and network. If it also happens to save PBS funding, that’s just a sunny coincidence.