And the plot thickens when it comes to the saga that is the “Kennedy Center Woes”.
Just over a month after taking office in February 2025 the 47th president made a hostile takeover of The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Then the nightmare began…
The bipartisan Kennedy Center board was ousted and replaced with loyalists who bowed to every whim.
Advisors, employees, artists, and productions began leaving The Center; leaving a large void of plummeting ticket sales.
In December, the board voted to add the name of the 47th president to the building – a place that only the United States Congress can make changes – a memorial established by Congress to honour assassinated President John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
The move brought another onslaught of cancellations and exodus.
Shortly thereafter, the announcement was made that the Kennedy Center was falling apart and needed some major repairs that would essentially result in the gutting of the facility and a closure for two years to complete. The date for closure was set – July 4. In anticipation of the closure, the board laid off all but a skeleton crew; leaving a severe worker shortage.
Authorities have said that the Kennedy Center will remain open after July 5, but are NOT committing to rescheduling any cancelled performances or bringing back any staff.
“The Court’s order did not affirmatively require the Board to reschedule programming that had previously been cancelled or to seek new programming,” the lawyers wrote in the filing.
After a lawsuit federal Judge Casey Cooper ruled that the only name on the building of the Kennedy Center is that of John F. Kennedy with a deadline of June 12.
Supposedly the illegal name has been removed…BUT, a tarp remains over the front of the building covering up where the name is located.
Part of Judge Cooper’s ruling is that the Kennedy Center cannot be closed and the board must present a plan of action for the planned renovations.
The board has requested additional time from the court to comply with the order as they consider their options – close The Center despite the court ruling, stay open with a limited performance schedule, or struggle to schedule a full season of programming and only close the sections under reconstruction.
The United States Department of Justice is representing the Kennedy Center.
Speaking on the situation, an un-named source said, “they are really in a major, major crisis that has left its leadership gasping for air. Keeping the lights on – that is by far the number one thing that they’re going to have a major, major issue with.”
Head of the Kennedy Center Matt Floca spoke on The Center’s financial issues saying, “my decision was focused on the needs of the building. The center can support itself in a – you know, in an empty… Money was not a factor in deciding to do what we need to do.”
Currently a few outdoor movies, a weekend studio for children, and a National Symphony Orchestra performance are all that is on the Kennedy Center calendar. National tours are booked months ahead of time and there are agents who will not book performances at the Kennedy Center under the current administration.
While the Washington National Opera has left the Kennedy Center; the Washington National Orchestra has remained. One possibility to help the situation is scheduling multiple concerts by the Orchestra; however, a new contract has not been signed nor has its budget been approved.
Former assistant manager of dance programming at the Kennedy Center Mallory Miller noted that the remaining employees will have to figure out a way to fill the stages saying, “there’s a complete leadership vacuum.”
She added, “you can’t just call a major ballet company and be like, ‘Get on my stage next week.’ That’s not how that works. You plan those types of engagements sometimes well over a year in advance, and so for the near-term future, I don’t know what it looks like. It’s all a mess.”
And now there is the mystery of the tarp covering part of the Kennedy Center building…
The Kennedy Center says the name has been removed, but nobody has seen the evidence.
On June 13 crews were seen preparing to remove the illegal name but then the tarp arrived only deepening the mystery and sparking numerous accusations and conspiracy theories.
Kennedy Center spokesperson Roma Davari spoke on the tarp saying, “the scaffolding and tarp will remain up as crews address maintenance needs of the marble and soffit panels.”
Opponents and critics are calling it a “cover up!”
While the reflecting pool saga occupies a majority of the news media, the nightmare that is the Kennedy Center continues…