Kennedy Center subscription sales fall 36 percent from previous year

Sales of subscriptions for the coming season of programming at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts are down by about $1.6 million, or roughly 36 percent, compared with last year.

By this point in 2024, the center had generated $4,413,147 in revenue from selling subscriptions to its theater, dance, classical and other seasons of performances. This year, it has generated $2,656,524 as of June 1, plus $155,243 from a new mix-and-match package, according to internal data obtained by The Washington Post.

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The sales data was collected and shared by former Kennedy Center employees and confirmed by a current staff member, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retribution. The subscription data offers a window into the center’s overall finances but is just one source of revenue, in addition to donations, individual ticket sales, government funding and other sources. Its operating budget in 2024 was $268 million. Of that, roughly $125 million came from earned revenue, such as ticket sales.

“We understand providing information like this can be seen in a bad light,” the current staffer said in a message. “But we feel that it is necessary to show that mismanagement by the new leadership is becoming a real problem for the health of the organization.” The employee said because the new leaders have overlooked staff opinions and fired some who disagreed, “we feel that we no longer have a choice but to force complete transparency with the public.”

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President Donald Trump took control of the Kennedy Center in February, filling the board of trustees with allies who then appointed him chair, and replacing the institution’s longtime president with Richard Grenell, who had served several roles in Trump’s first administration. Both Grenell and his new chief financial officer, Donna Arduin Kauranen, have repeatedly said the Kennedy Center is in dire financial health.

“We have an operating deficit of over $100 million,” she wrote in an email to the center’s staff in March. In May, Grenell accused the arts institution’s previous leadership of financial mismanagement and “fraud” during a speech at the White House, claiming “the ’24 and ’25 budgets” included “$26 million in phantom revenue.”

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Former chairman David Rubenstein and former president Deborah Rutter have denied any financial mismanagement and dismissed the accusation as a partisan attack, pointing to past financial statements that are independently audited.

“Your comparison isn’t accurate because of several factors,” Kim Cooper, the Kennedy Center’s senior vice president of marketing, said in a message about the subscriptions data sent through a spokesperson. “We strategically launched later this year vs last year. Our renewal campaign is just kicking off and our hard-copy season brochures have not yet hit homes. Our patrons wait for our new season brochures and renewal campaigns to take action.” Cooper also pointed to the mix-and-match packages and to unannounced programming.

The Kennedy Center has declined several requests from The Washington Post to share financial documents or other details of the center’s finances, or to make Grenell available for an interview.

The center sells subscriptions — or ticket packages — across various genres: theater, dance, Fortas Chamber Music, Washington National Opera, National Symphony Orchestra and performances for young audiences. Patrons can purchase different subscriptions that come with tickets to a varying number of shows within a genre. This year, the center added an option for patrons to mix and match shows from different genres.

Subscriptions to the seasons went on sale earlier last year, so the data compiled by the former staffers compares subscription sales from the same duration of time in each subscription campaign — 10 weeks in for the classical season and two weeks in for the others. All percentages reflect a change in revenue generated from subscription sales.

Theater, dance and performances for young audiences went on sale May 19 this year. The classical season — the opera and the orchestra — went on sale March 27.

Theater has taken the most significant hit, with revenue from subscription sales down 82 percent through the first two weeks of the subscription campaign. At this time in last year’s subscription campaign, the center had generated $1,226,344 in revenue from selling 1,771 subscriptions. This year it has sold 371 subscriptions, totaling $224,059, a difference of more than $1 million.

“If I am the new administration, I am certainly worried by these numbers, especially the theater dollars,” said one former Kennedy Center staffer who spoke on the condition of anonymity to not violate a non-disparagement agreement. The former employee noted that theater is “by far the largest driver of revenue for the center for ticket sales.” This person also said that the shrinking sales do not continue a trend from previous seasons but mark a “drastic” drop-off, adding: “We had been building back subscriptions from covid. Each year, for the most part, we had seen a little bit of increase for most of the genres.”

The caveat, the former employee said, is that the theater subscriptions have been on sale for only two weeks — and some of the advertising, such as the mailed-out brochures, might not have peaked yet.

“But I would say, given how everything else is performing, it is highly unlikely that we would see that number get back up to parity,” the former employee said.

Since Trump’s takeover, several touring productions — most notably “Hamilton” — have canceled planned runs at the center.

Meanwhile, the center may be having greater difficulty booking shows. The Post recently reported that while the next theater season will feature six Broadway tours — a comparable number to previous years — they will run nine fewer weeks in total than the current season. And the Kennedy Center’s main competitor for Broadway tours, the National Theatre, is offering a season that is more packed than usual.

The Kennedy Center’s new leaders have pointed to heavy attendance at events including a fireworks show by artist Cai Guo-Qiang and a screening Sunday of the animated film “The King of Kings” — both of which were free events.

One way the Kennedy Center is attempting to boost revenue is by diversifying the kinds of shows it books. The upcoming season will have two non-Equity touring productions — nonunion shows that generally have lower production values. It is also trimming its costs by laying off staff, an effort that inspired a group of workers there to file to form a union.

Among other kinds of performances, ballet and dance revenue is down 57 percent through the first two weeks of the subscription campaign, earning $139,434 from 213 subscriptions compared with $321,007 from 521 subscriptions. The coming season’s slate notably does not include the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, a reliable crowd-gathering anchor of past seasons.

Revenue from performances for young audiences, which makes up a much smaller slice of the pie, is down 85 percent through the first two weeks of the subscription campaign. Last year, it generated $37,627 from 627 subscriptions. This year, it has sold 69 subscriptions, totaling $5,971.

The classical season has not declined as steeply this year. The former employee attributed the subscription declines to audience boycotts since the takeover and suggested some of those audiences may still support the Washington National Opera and National Symphony Orchestra as separate brands.

Revenue generated from Washington National Opera subscriptions are down 15 percent through the first 10 weeks of the subscription campaign. The center has sold 1,782 subscriptions for $1,068,868 this year, compared with 2,107 for $1,262,844 last year.

“The WNO numbers actually masks a little bit of what’s happening here,” the former employee said, pointing out there are five main-stage operas this year, compared with last year’s four. “Really, they should be ahead.”

The National Symphony Orchestra’s revenue is similarly down 22 percent through the first 10 weeks of the subscription campaign — 2,458 subscriptions for $1,163,927 this year compared with 1,294 subscriptions for $1,493,060 last year.

Finally, revenue from the relatively small Fortas Chamber season is down 25 percent. The center has sold just 208 subscriptions for $54,266 this year, compared with 385 subscriptions for $72,266 last year.

The newly created mix-and-match subscription has generated $155,243 from 527 subscriptions.

“For the first time ever in Kennedy Center history, we launched a brand-new option that lets subscribers mix and match genres within a single subscription — a subscription only the Kennedy Center can offer given our breadth of programming,” Cooper said. “It is a highly requested feature we’re proud to deliver as part of our commitment to giving people more choice and flexibility. It also expands our ability to reach new audiences. Patrons no longer have to choose one favorite art form for a subscription package — and they love it. In addition, we have upcoming announcements across all genres including Broadway Center Stage and new genres that we know will have strong appeal across all audiences.”

“Ticket buyers, subscribers, and donors have spoken with their wallets,” the current staffer added, “not against a Republican being in charge, but against the hostile takeover of their performing arts center.”