President Donald Trump’s MAGA takeover of the Kennedy Middle is exhibiting cracks. The once-prestigious performing arts venue has already seen artists withdraw, and now ticket gross sales are dropping.
“We had spent way too much on programming that doesn’t bring in any revenue,” Richard Grenell, a Trump ally and former ambassador to Germany, instructed the Washington Reporter in March, blaming the middle’s earlier management for being “too woke.” He was appointed interim government director and tasked with overhauling the Washington establishment.
“We’re going to save the Kennedy Center. We’re going to make it incredible,” Trump added in June. “It’s got great sound. The bones are very good.”
The numbers inform a unique story. Greater than a month into the brand new season, tens of hundreds of seats throughout the Kennedy Middle’s three largest venues have gone unsold. Between Sept. 3 and Oct. 19, roughly 50,000 seats remained empty—about 43% of complete capability—in response to an evaluation from The Washington Publish. A 12 months in the past, simply 7% of tickets have been left unsold throughout the identical interval. In 2023, it was 20%.
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“Ticket sales for the Kennedy Center’s three largest performance venues are the worst they’ve been in years,” the Publish discovered. “Unfilled seats are now a regular feature of Washington’s national center for the performing arts.”
The Kennedy Middle didn’t instantly reply to Each day Kos’ request for remark.
The droop comes almost 9 months after Trump put in himself as chair of the Kennedy Middle board, breaking a long time of precedent by turning a nonpartisan arts establishment right into a political showcase. And the indicators of bother have been seen early on: In June, The New York Occasions discovered that single-ticket gross sales for April and Might have been down roughly 50% in comparison with the identical interval in 2024.
Underneath Trump and Grenell, the middle has taken on a distinctly conservative edge, together with a wave of “Christian programming” that’s usually free to the general public. That shift has alienated most of the heart’s conventional audiences and artists. Fashionable exhibits like “Hamilton” have pulled out, a number of performers have severed ties, and longtime programming executives have resigned or been pushed out.
Remaining workers members say the middle now feels chaotic and adrift. One former worker instructed the Publish the backlash to Trump’s management hit more durable than even the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“These numbers are likely more dire than they appear,” the individual stated, noting that they don’t account for canceled productions or exhibits quietly moved into smaller theaters resulting from weak demand.
A present workers member agreed, saying the issue goes past programming and has impacted the venue’s general standing.
“This downturn isn’t just about pricing or scheduling,” they stated, talking anonymously for concern of retaliation. “It feels directly tied to the new regime’s leadership shift and the broader political climate. I’ve heard from ticket buyers who say they’re choosing not to attend because of what the Kennedy Center now represents. The brand itself has become polarizing, which is unprecedented in my experience.”
Grenell has continued responsible the middle’s earlier administration for overspending and debt. However the Publish discovered that the brand new staff’s selections are bleeding income at a sooner fee. With so many seats empty, the middle has left greater than $1 million in potential ticket gross sales on the desk—simply 45 days into the season.
Michael Kaiser, who served as Kennedy Middle president from 2001 to 2014, stated the monetary fallout may worsen if donors comply with audiences out the door.
“Depressed ticket sales not only cause a shortfall in revenue; they also bode unfavorably for future fundraising,” he instructed the paper. “The vast majority of donors are ticket buyers who are anxious to enhance their relationships with the organization by making contributions in addition to paying for their tickets. We had 40,000 generous individual donors by the time I left the Center in 2014. Funding from these individuals formed the foundation for all we accomplished.”
Within the meantime, the Kennedy Middle seems to be papering over its attendance downside by making a gift of an rising variety of free tickets, or “comps,” to workers, press, and company. A number of staff stated they’ve obtained much more passes than in earlier years—an indication, they consider, of desperation.
“All in all, it is not a sustainable situation,” one stated.
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Earlier than Trump’s intervention, “swaths of empty seats were an unusual sight” within the heart’s main halls, in response to the Publish. Now, rows of pink velvet chairs sit empty evening after evening—a stark image of the middle’s fading status.
For an establishment constructed within the wake of a president’s assassination and meant to characterize nationwide unity and tradition, the Kennedy Middle is now mirroring Trump’s Washington as a substitute: divided, politicized, and dropping the gravitas it as soon as commanded.
