When opportunity knocks, Lyric Baltimore CEO Thomas Bailey knows he has to be ready to answer. Even on a weekend.

So, when he saw the news on a Friday in January that the Washington National Opera was leaving the Kennedy Center after 55 years, he sent a Hail Mary through the group’s website: “We in Baltimore would really love to have you,” Bailey wrote.

He did not receive an answer. But Bailey spent the entire weekend working his networks until he connected with WNO officials. Less than a week later, the opera was coming to Baltimore.

Bailey’s canceled Saturday night out was a small price to pay for “a revolutionary chance,” he said. The WNO will perform “West Side Story” at the Lyric in May.

The opera is one of a number of performance groups and artists who have left the Kennedy Center as a result of President Donald Trump’s aggressive takeover of the institution. And the Lyric, like other Maryland venues, is trying to capitalize on the unexpected opportunities.

“Because this talent is now available,” Bailey said, “we really want to rise to the occasion.”

This sense of responsibility to local arts fans — to react fast and nimbly to artists suddenly in search of new venues and deliver the performances — has thrust Baltimore and Maryland’s cultural scene into the national spotlight. With Trump determined to weed out arts programming he deems “woke,” major artists from across media are relocating their works from the nation’s capital to its neighbor to the north.

The list of examples is growing: Amy Sherald’s “American Sublime” exhibit landed at the Baltimore Museum of Art in November after the painter pulled it from the National Portrait Gallery over censorship concerns. Then came the WNO’s announcement of “West Side Story” at the Lyric and the Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda. Most recently, acclaimed composer Philip Glass, a Baltimore native, said he’ll bring his new Abraham Lincoln-inspired symphony to Maryland in 2027.

“Maryland is open for all,” said Steven Skerritt-Davis, executive director of the Maryland State Arts Council, who described the state as a place that welcomes creatives, including those who use art to respond to what’s happening in the world. “We don’t shy away from the tough conversations.”

It’s a case of Maryland reaping rewards at D.C.’s expense, though some in the local arts community warn the effects aren’t all positive.

Trump ordered the rapid overhaul of the Kennedy Center, which has hosted live theater, dance, music and other performances since it opened in 1971. The building now reads “The Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.” Top officials have stepped down. More than two dozen artists have canceled events, from “Hamilton” to jazz musician Chuck Redd, and attendance reportedly has dropped off severely.

Glass pulled the work as a rebuke of Trump’s influence on the venue.

“Symphony No. 15 is a portrait of Abraham Lincoln, and the values of the Kennedy Center today are in direct conflict with the message of the Symphony,” Glass wrote in a withdrawal letter to the Kennedy Center’s board and the National Symphony Orchestra.

The Kennedy Center did not respond to requests for comment.

‘How can we make this happen?’

Deciding to bring A-list talent to Maryland isn’t the hard part. It’s the execution.

Pulling off these fluid, competitive talent bookings requires a willingness to move mountains. An exhibit like “American Sublime” can require months, even years, of preparation for a museum, BMA Director Asma Naeem said, but her staff worked tirelessly to get the large-scale exhibit and its nearly 40 paintings ready in weeks.

To accommodate “West Side Story” on May 8-10, Bailey had to tell another performer the date they previously discussed was no longer available.

“All I was thinking was, ‘How can we make this happen?’” he said. “This is a big-time show, and to have it produced by such a legendary opera company based out of Washington, I mean, what more can you say?”

Hosting “American Sublime” has paid off for the BMA. After more than 72,000 ticket reservations, the record-breaking exhibit sold out weeks ahead of the end of its run. In turn, the museum released thousands more tickets to accommodate what it called unprecedented demand.

The BSO, too, is seeing “a great response” to the Glass news, said Whitney Brown, director of communications. The “Lincoln” program is among the new season’s top sellers, and roughly 8,500 users accessed the BSO website on the day the season was announced, a 70% increase from the day last season’s schedule went live.

Even venues not involved in the rescheduled performances are benefiting from the changes in D.C.

Olney Theatre Center in Montgomery County recently received about $50,000 from donors who said they could no longer support the Kennedy Center, Executive Director Debbie Ellinghaus said. Roughly $10,000 came from first-time donors.

“We know that this area is hungry for great theater,” Ellinghaus said. “Our box office is doing well this time of year, which can be a challenging time — the winter in Maryland — to get people to come out of the house.”

The shift of performers to Maryland comes at a time when the arts are already flourishing.

Consider it a one-two punch of homegrown talent and prominent artists who choose to work here, from Baltimore’s Grammy-winning hardcore band Turnstile to Lena Waithe and her debut play, “trinity.” The Emmy winner has sung Baltimore’s praises throughout the show’s run, which was just extended to March 15 at Baltimore Center Stage due to demand.

Bailey said he can feel the momentum building. Attracting marquee talent to Maryland boosts sales for businesses beyond the host venue, he said. “A rising tide lifts all boats” is one of his favorite sayings.

“Any time that you can put on a top show, you are always helping your neighbors and the restaurants around us,” Bailey said.

‘It hurts all of us’

There is a downside, though, to the disturbance in D.C.

Ellinghaus cautioned that the Kennedy Center fallout in some ways was not good for her theater, which is only about 30 miles from the Washington institution. Less theater programming in the region leads to fewer patrons supporting venues, she said.

“It actually harms the frequency in which people are seeing theater,” Ellinghaus said. “When one of us thrives, we all thrive. One of us fails, it hurts all of us.”

Ellinghaus said it’s “devastating” not to have the Kennedy Center hosting the work it’s known for. She does not relish the moment. “We’re not seeing this as an opportunity.”

In other cases, artists who have left the Kennedy Center, such as folk acts Magpie and Rhiannon Giddens, rescheduled the performances in Washington.

Still, the artists fleeing Washington in protest have left a void that Maryland has stepped up to fill — and local audiences are showing up in response.

Eric Freedman, Maryland Institute College of Art provost and vice president for academic affairs, said the homecoming of Sherald, a MICA graduate, has been “monumental” — a celebration of a renowned alum and a reminder of the quality of artists it nurtures.

The key, he said, is to educate visitors on what an entire trip to Baltimore could look like — including restaurants, hotels, galleries and museums, not just the high-profile arts or culture event that may get them through the door.

“People may not understand, so you go to the BMA and then the Walters [Art Museum] is here and the [American] Visionary Art Museum is here,” Freedman said. “There’s this list that people may not carry in their heads. The appeal is here.

“We need to start making that list front and center.”