Sales at the Kennedy Center are way down

Empty seats have become a fixture at the national center for the performing arts since Trump's takeover.

By Emma Keates  |  October 31, 2025 | 9:26am
Photo: J. David Ake/Getty Images
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Sales at the Kennedy Center are way down

Turns out people don’t want to see Les Misérables or The Sound Of Music at a performing arts center run by a real-life authoritarian government. Ticket sales at the Kennedy Center have plummeted since Trump fired the board and named himself chairman shortly after his inauguration, The Washington Post reports. This isn’t all that shocking; multiple artists canceled their upcoming shows in protest after the president’s takeover, and it follows that a swath of audience members would boycott as well. What is jarring, however, is just how steep that ticket drop off has been. Sales are “the worst they’ve been in years,” WP writes. Since September, only 57 percent of tickets have been sold for a typical production at the Center—and some of those were likely comp tickets given away for free to VIPs, staff, or press. That’s compared to 93 percent of tickets sold in fall 2024 and 80 percent in fall 2023.

This season’s numbers aren’t just bad—they’re worse than 2021, as the Center was just starting to open after the pandemic lockdowns. That season, 34 percent of seats went unsold. This year, it was 43 percent. “Given the unprecedented takeover of a nonpartisan arts institution combined with the inexperience and rhetoric of the new management, I expected a decline in sales; however, it is truly shocking to see that these actions have been worse for business at the Kennedy Center than the aftermath of a global pandemic,” an anonymous former staff member told the outlet. “These numbers are likely more dire than they appear, as they don’t account for canceled productions or shows moved into smaller theaters due to weak ticket sales.”

The status of the Kennedy Center’s overall revenue remains unclear. (WP writes that the Center’s leadership declines several requests for comment on the matter.) Former Kennedy Center President Michael Kaiser told the outlet the drop in ticket sales doesn’t bode well for vital donations either. “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,” he explained. “Funding from these individuals formed the foundation for all we accomplished.”

Now, even normally reliable shows like the musicals mentioned above or a symphony tribute to John Williams and Steven Spielberg are struggling. “This downturn isn’t just about pricing or programming—it feels directly tied to the new regime’s leadership shift and the broader political climate,” a current staff member shared. “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.” 

 
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