As he presented the Mark Twain Prize to Conan O’Brien at the end of a ceremony at the Kennedy Center this evening, David Letterman said to the audience, “I’m not a historian, but I believe that history will show,

Conan O’Brien is set to receive the Mark Twain Prize at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, where the backstage drama of the host institution may hang over the celebration.

At this year’s Mark Twain Prize for American Humor ceremony honoring Conan O’Brien, a tribute to comedy may compete with the drama in the building.