Last night, the Kennedy Center was locked down like an embassy under siege. The police presence was colossal. The city closed the surrounding streets. Nonetheless, a sizeable contingent of official Washington trundled through snowbanks and slush puddles, past protestors with megaphones, through mult iple security barricades and throngs of flashing police lights and black SUVs to attend the premiere of Melania. Then there were the rest of us, who’d just come for the National Symphony Orchestra. “Nothing could be more dreadful than being in this building for the Melania premiere,” said one chic woman waiting in line for the metal detectors. She hadn’t even realized that there was a MAGA-world screening that night; she’d just come to hear some Brahms. Among the NSO patrons in the Hall of Nations, that sentiment was common. Asked if they’d known about the movie premiere in advance, a group of women chatting by a bank of windows all said no. “We would not be here if we knew,” one said. Her friend added that she was pretty “creeped out.” Some concertgoers only realized things were amiss when they found that the Kennedy Center’s shuttles weren’t running from Foggy Bottom. Others realized when they saw that all the roads were blocked off. A handful put the pieces together when they received an email from the Kennedy Center alerting them to heightened security for an unnamed event. But many seemed to have been caught completely unaware. “I had no idea,” said one man who’d just moved to DC. “I saw the convoys outside—like, ten cop cars and then six Escalades and then ten more cop cars and I texted my friends about how weird this was and they were like ‘Yeah, the Melania premiere is tonight.’”  Related A Kennedy Center Musician on What it’s Like There Now When they did realize, patrons of the NSO seemed largely displeased. One man called the whole thing “sad,” saying the Melania hubbub was a “sign of troubled times.” Another said he often comes to the Kennedy Center—and has “held his nose” since the administration started calling it the Trump-Kennedy Center—but he’s finding it harder and harder to take. A woman remarked that “tonight is not helping” her resolve to continue to show up for the NSO. “It’s just a reminder that you cannot ignore what’s going on,” she said, eyeing the tall black curtains that cordoned off the Melania soiree. Behind those curtains congregated an array of the nation’s elite: the President and First Lady, the Speaker of the House, cabinet secretaries and conservative influencers, reality stars and “number one Trump fan” Nicki Minaj. According to the Wall Street Journal, Melania Trump had pitched this documentary about herself directly to Jeff Bezos, whose company then spent $40 million to acquire it—more than 70 percent of which the First Lady will apparently pocket. The Kennedy Center screening was part of Amazon’s lavish rollout of a niche movie that’s only expected to do $3-ish million in opening weekend sales. As a result, media coverage has been fixated on the movie’s finances, how critics see its licensing as a payment to the Trump family meant to encourage a favorable regulatory environment for one of the biggest companies on Earth. (“We licensed the upcoming Melania Trump documentary film and series for one reason and one reason only—because we think customers are going to love it,” said an Amazon spokesperson to the WSJ.)  On the NSO side of the big black curtain, concertgoers in puffer coats sipped watery cocktails and kvetched. “It’s a little surreal,” said one woman looking out at the Potomac with her friend. “And a little bizarre that they’re taking over the Kennedy Center to show a film about the First Lady. We’re longtime Washingtonians, but this is…different.” A few feet away, another two women were having drinks. “I’m feeling a little uneasy,” one remarked. The other added, “Things are getting a little bit weird.”  Asked how they felt about seeing the National Symphony during the Melania premiere, an older couple shared a pointed glance. “We’re not…fans…of his,” the man began, before his wife interrupted to be blunt: “I’m a green-card holder and if I’d known he was here tonight, I would have done everything not to come to see him.” They stressed that they love the NSO. “We’ll focus on the music,” the woman said, “but we’re disgusted by what’s happening here.” Inside the concert hall, as members of the National Symphony warmed up, the crowd situation was dire. At 7 PM, when the concert was scheduled to begin, there appeared to be fewer audience members than musicians. But a little past the hour, a smattering of additional folks trickled in—some held up by the robust security outside. Still, it was a dreadful crowd, even by recent Kennedy Center standards. “I feel bad for the soloists,” one attendee remarked, pointing out that the orchestra’s concertmaster and principal cellist—who were about to play the Brahms Double Concerto—had probably been practicing for a year, only to play to an empty room due to the President’s “ego trip.”  Halfway through the program, maestro Gianandrea Noseda quasi-addressed the strangeness. “You are not super numerous,” he said to the tiny crowd, which got a nervous laugh. But he thanked everyone for being there anyway, noting that it’s a gift to the orchestra to see people in the audience, and that “music is beyond all the difficulties.” Then the musicians picked up their instruments to play a piece by Alexander Scriabin, which Noseda described as being as rich as a seven-course meal.  Afterwards, there was little sign of the Melania crowd—the movie must have still been running—and the NSO’s audience seemed notably more at ease. People said they had a good time, that the Brahms concerto was “amazing.” The only evidence of Melania was the array of white gift bags in the lobby and the armada of hulking earpiece men fanned out across the building. Eyeing them, one symphony patron said, “I hope they lose a lot of money on this movie.” Then he disappeared into the frigid night—on foot, because the security made it impossible for him to drive.The post Kennedy Center Regulars Did Not Enjoy the “Melania” Premiere first appeared on Washingtonian. ...read more read less