Hardly a day goes by that there isn’t a post from the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. about an upcoming production.

Appearances are that since the takeover in February that business is booming, but according to reports, those appearances are deceiving.

As the Kennedy Center prepares for the biggest event of the year – the annual Kennedy Center Honors – nearly half of the tickets for performances are going unsold.

After years of bipartisan independent leadership, the Kennedy Center was the victim of a hostile takeover by the White House administration; citing a need to “get rid of woke programming”.

In a report compiled by the “Washington Post”, the Kennedy Center has seen a “steep decline” in ticket sales.  With a focus on productions booked between September  and October 19 (shows booked by Richard Grenell), 43% of the tickets went unsold!

In comparison, during the same time period in 2024, only seven percent of the seats went unsold.

The Washington Post cited two examples with the  revival of “Parade” selling only 57% of ther tickets after moving from the 2,364 seat Opera House to the 1,161 seat Eisenhower Theater.  And for the performance of “Stayin’ Alive: The Bee Gees & Beyond” only sold 34% of their tickets.

While Broadway is currently experiencing its best season yet, The Post article cites three possible reasons for the steep decline a trend of lower attendance at arts events, the presence of the National Guard in Washington, D.C., and the change of leadership at the Kennedy Center.

Along with the lower attendance numbers; a number of previously scheduled programs cancelled their performances.

An anonymous Kennedy Center staff member reported, “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. 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.”

The Washington Post article follows up on a similar article that appeared in the New York Times.