Subscription sales at Washington, DC's Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts have fallen sharply—and insiders say the change in management is to blame. Sales of subscriptions to theater, dance, and other performances are down 36%, or around $1.6 million, year-on-year, the Washington Post reports. President Trump fired members of the institution's board of trustees and declared himself chairman weeks after taking office. The new board he appointed made it official. Theater subscriptions have taken the biggest hit and are down 82%, with dance and ballet subscriptions down 57%. Classical music and opera subscriptions are also down, but at a lower rate.
A former Kennedy Center employee tells the Post that the figures are a "drastic" drop-off from the last few years, noting that theater is "by far the largest driver of revenue for the center for ticket sales." A current employee confirmed the sales figures, compiled by former employees, to the Post, saying transparency is necessary because "mismanagement by the new leadership is becoming a real problem for the health of the organization."
"Ticket buyers, subscribers, and donors have spoken with their wallets, not against a Republican being in charge, but against the hostile takeover of their performing arts center," the employee said. Trump, meanwhile, told Fox News on Tuesday that the center "was not properly taken care of and we are taking it back and we are going to turn it back into something great." Fox reports that the president plans to attend the opening night of Les Miserables at the center next week. (The center has canceled this month's Pride events.)
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