After Dick Van Dyke got the call informing him that he had been selected as a Kennedy Center Award winner, he did exactly what he wasn’t told: he called his family to tell them the good news.
And why not? He is a 95-year-old senior statesman in show business whose eponymous television show has helped shape American sitcoms for decades.
“My wife took the call and said,” Congratulations, but don’t tell anyone, “Van Dyke said in a telephone interview on Tuesday.” You can’t do that! I called all my relatives right away. I couldn’t record that . “
Van Dyke has now added one of the highest artistic awards in the country to his résumé. Other recipients announced Wednesday by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts include singer-songwriter and activist Joan Baez; country music star Garth Brooks; the actress, choreographer and producer Debbie Allen; and the violinist Midori.
Last year the pandemic messed up the Kennedy Center Honors schedule. Usually in December, the performances and ceremonies associated with the show have been postponed to May. It is scheduled to air on June 6th on CBS.
Another major change lies in the changing political winds: while President Trump neither attended the honors nor held the traditional White House reception for the award winners during his tenure, President-elect Biden is expected to revive the relationship.
In a typical year, an opera house is on the program with high-profile celebrities, dignitaries and donors to celebrate the winners. This year the shows will be filmed on the Kennedy Center campus – some maybe with a small live audience – or the film crew will travel to see the cast if they can’t make it to Washington.
The center is hoping for a typical reception at the White House and a ceremony at the State Department where the ribbons will be distributed.
However, some traditions are out of the question.
“There will be no dinner with 2,000 people in the lobby,” said Deborah Rutter, president of the Kennedy Center. “We will only do this in the safest and most respectful way possible.”
The award winners – selected on the recommendation of an advisory committee composed of Kennedy Center officials and previous award winners – represent folk, country, and classical music, as well as theater and television.
Baez’s singer-songwriting career has long been linked to her political activism, which began with the civil rights movement and antiwar protests. 80-year-old Baez says she now regards painting as her main artistic medium. When it comes to her legacy, she would prefer to be remembered for “good issues,” she said, quoting Rep John Lewis rather than awards.
“I don’t want to be too respectable,” she said in an interview and laughed. “But I accept and assume that ‘good problems’ I’ve lived my life in are part of why I get this award.”
Although these award winners are long past their career as “fighting artist”, it is not lost that they received this award at a time of crisis in their industry, in which there is a pandemic.
Brooks – the best-selling solo artist in US history according to the Recording Industry Association of America – said he feared for the musicians who are in the position he was in 30 years ago and playing bars and clubs with the hope that it will comes to a record deal.
“The carpet was pulled out from under them,” said Brooks, 58 years old. “How this will affect the music industry in the future is a big question.”
For the past 10 months, all five artists have been looking for safe ways to share their art and interact with their audiences. Baez, for example, exhibited her pictures virtually; Allen has taught live dance classes in front of a virtual audience of more than 35,000 people. and Van Dyke said he was delighted to learn from fan mail that some kids who came home from school had discovered “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” “Mary Poppins,” and “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”. (“I have a brand new fan club!” He said.)
For 49-year-old Midori, the Japanese-born violinist who rose to fame in the United States after performing with the New York Philharmonic at age 11, the pandemic has brought greater appreciation for performing in front of an audience in the flesh . She has given virtual workshops and master classes during the pandemic.
“It made me realize how precious the moments are when I can do things live,” she said.
At a time when the land is sort of a wasteland for the performing arts, there is a desire that this Spring Honor Program usher in some sort of rebirth.
Allen, 70, has long been concerned with promoting the arts as a critical national concern. After establishing herself as a Broadway performer and gaining recognition for her roles in “West Side Story” and “Sweet Charity” as well as for her “Fame” choreography, Allen was a kind of cultural diplomat under President George W. Bush and traveled to Teaching and talking about dance abroad.
Allen said that at a time of national crisis, she saw the arts as an ointment – as well as a space to discuss the pressing issues of the day. (In “Grey’s Anatomy”, in which Allen produces, directs and acts, Covid-19 is the central plot.)
“As a country, we are all looking for the light because such a storm takes over,” said Allen. “And art is always an answer.”
