Kennedy Center ticket sales have dramatically plummeted since Trump takeover

[macbeth]

Posted: 10/31/25 at 8:06am

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/kennedy-center-ticket-sales-have-plummeted-since-trump-takeover/ar-AA1PyzfG

Since early September, 43 percent of tickets remained unsold for the typical production. That means that, at most, 57 percent of tickets were sold for the typical production — and some tickets may have been “comps,” which are given away, often to staff members or the press. That compares with 93 percent sold or comped in fall 2024 and 80 percent in fall 2023. 

That's quite a drop!

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 10/31/25 at 8:26am

Trump is a fat ugly fúck.

[tacotheatrelover]

Posted: 10/31/25 at 8:29am

TotallyEffed said: "Trump is a fat ugly fúck."

There’s a fork in the kitchen

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 10/31/25 at 9:06am

And water is wet.

[TarHeelAlan]

Posted: 10/31/25 at 9:13am

Another example: Quoting the Kennedy Center's website for an upcoming concert, "After his sold-out concert in 2023, 2x Grammy Award–winning singer-songwriter Gregory Porter returns to the Kennedy Center!" 

Porter's 2023 show was on New Year's Eve in the Concert Hall. This year's show is scheduled for Dec 27 in the same hall. As the KC helpfully posts the number of available tickets for each section of their venues (a feature that I bet will disappear in the coming months), it's easy to figure out how poorly the show is selling. The capacity of the Hall is 2,465. Some quick math for the four sections of the hall shows there are a total of 2,025 tickets available, meaning they've sold a grand total of 440 tickets less than 2 months from show date. My rough count of the number of seats sold in just the Orchestra reveals 200 sold, with a whopping 1,236 still available. 

[WhoCouldBeBlue]

Posted: 10/31/25 at 10:23am

macbeth said: "https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/kennedy-center-ticket-sales-have-plummeted-since-trump-takeover/ar-AA1PyzfG

Since early September, 43 percent of tickets remained unsold for the typical production. That means that, at most, 57 percent of tickets were sold for the typical production — and some tickets may have been “comps,” which are given away, often to staff members or the press. That compares with 93 percent sold or comped in fall 2024 and 80 percent in fall 2023.

That's quite a drop!"

Looks like the drop is coming to Broadway too!

 

[THDavis]

Posted: 10/31/25 at 12:21pm

WhoCouldBeBlue said: "macbeth said: "https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/kennedy-center-ticket-sales-have-plummeted-since-trump-takeover/ar-AA1PyzfG

Since early September, 43 percent of tickets remained unsold for the typical production. That means that, at most, 57 percent of tickets were sold for the typical production — and some tickets may have been “comps,” which are given away, often to staff members or the press. That compares with 93 percent sold or comped in fall 2024 and 80 percent in fall 2023.

That's quite a drop!"

Looks like the drop is coming to Broadway too!

"

As much as we’ve been speculating about it, it seems like the state of Broadway has held fairly well considering the uncertain economic climate. Kennedy Center is a better direct reflection as to what government control/dictatorship policy can do to the arts…

With all of his attention on bombing Central American countries, funding Argentina and Israel, and sucking the military on his own citizens, how is he finding time the time to put America and the rising cost of groceries first? It’s almost like he’s a conman… kinda like everyone else in the world has been saying… 

lol

[BJR]

Posted: 10/31/25 at 12:34pm

WhoCouldBeBlue said: "macbeth said: "https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/kennedy-center-ticket-sales-have-plummeted-since-trump-takeover/ar-AA1PyzfG

Since early September, 43 percent of tickets remained unsold for the typical production. That means that, at most, 57 percent of tickets were sold for the typical production — and some tickets may have been “comps,” which are given away, often to staff members or the press. That compares with 93 percent sold or comped in fall 2024 and 80 percent in fall 2023.

That's quite a drop!"

Looks like the drop is coming to Broadway too!

"

If so, also his fault. His manic economy. 

[saxpower]

Posted: 10/31/25 at 12:55pm

I wonder if this was the whole idea- demand for Kennedy Center tickets go down, it becomes unprofitable, which gives him a reason to stop government funding. 

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 10/31/25 at 1:18pm

saxpower said: "I wonder if this was the whole idea- demand for Kennedy Center tickets go down, it becomes unprofitable, which gives him a reason to stop government funding."

It's never a strategy.

If he wanted to cut it off, he'd just do it the way he's already illegally cut off USAID and who knows how many other programs.

And he wouldn't have very conspicuously made himself the face of the Center if tanking it was his aim. He's genuinely stupid and vain enough to think people want him to guide the arts.

Never attribute to conspiracy what could be more easily explained by ego.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 10/31/25 at 1:43pm

KevinKlawitter said: "saxpower said: "I wonder if this was the whole idea- demand for Kennedy Center tickets go down, it becomes unprofitable, which gives him a reason to stop government funding."

It's never a strategy.

If he wanted to cut it off, he'd just do it the way he's already illegally cut off USAID and who knows how many other programs.

And he wouldn't have very conspicuously made himself the face of the Center if tanking it was his aim. He's genuinely stupid and vain enough to think people want him to guide the arts.

Never attribute to conspiracy what could be more easily explained by ego."

Exactly. He benefits when the government is shut down of course, but the only reason he f*cks with the Kennedy Center is because no one who truly love the arts would ever talk to him. He used to go to Hollywood parties, wanting so bad to be included, but everyone knew he was just the try-hard loser. For decades. It's allll about ego with this sociopath, and sometimes it's just breathtaking how far this Country has fallen under his regime. This will only get much, much worse as insane as that sounds looking at the current state of things.

[inception]

Posted: 10/31/25 at 1:49pm

Has anyone tried to purchase tickets for an event at the Kennedy Center?

It looks like Damn Yankees at Arena Stage won't extend to my dates in DC, so I was looking at getting tickets to the Symphony,  but their site is so glitchy and keeps getting errors when loading seat maps.   I think probably many people just give up trying to buy anything.

Edit: I gave up and instead got a discounted ticket through Today Tix for something else

Updated On: 10/31/25 at 01:49 PM

[MezzA101]

Posted: 11/9/25 at 7:28am

Washington National Opera Considers Exiting the Kennedy Center

https://operawire.com/washington-national-opera-considers-exiting-the-kennedy-center/

[Play Esq.]

Posted: 11/9/25 at 11:19am

By contrast, happy to say that Damn Yankees was sold out during my performance yesterday.  The arts are still thriving in DC…but I’m not touching the Kennedy Center until that asshat is gone. 

[Kad]

Posted: 11/9/25 at 11:53am

Alienating the main audience base of the Kennedy Center while doing absolutely nothing to attract a supposedly new audience is certainly the level of business strategy we should expect from Trump and his lickspittles. 

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 11/9/25 at 12:18pm

saxpower said: "I wonder if this was the whole idea- demand for Kennedy Center tickets go down, it becomes unprofitable, which gives him a reason to stop government funding."

100% correct. 

[Idiot]

Posted: 11/9/25 at 12:30pm

That his accusations are always confessions is only a tick less consistently observable than that everything he touches dies.

[MezzA101]

Posted: 11/14/25 at 3:03pm

The Kennedy Center is reeling from Trump’s takeover. Now FIFA is using it for the World Cup draw, free of charge (using this link instead of WaPo paywall)

 

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-fifa-kennedy-center-world-cup-b2865014.html

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 11/14/25 at 3:14pm

[SisterGeorge]

Posted: 11/14/25 at 7:46pm

I wonder when they'll announce that they're closing down the entire Center 'for renovation" (never to reopen again under the current admin). 

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 11/14/25 at 8:20pm

Mango Pedophile would bulldoze it if he could.....

[inception]

Posted: 11/15/25 at 1:18pm

I attended opening night of WNO's Mozart's Marriage of Figaro last night.  It was excellent. The Opera's general director Timothy O'Leary made a comment at the start, something about how it is nice to be presenting a work about the equality of all.  That got a big round of applause.  As a first time attendee it would be a shame if they had to move as the sound & sight lines, even from an upper level were excellent.  This might be a better opera house than the Met just because it is smaller, & more manageable for singers to project their voices. 

When I told the very elderly lady seated beside me that I was visiting from Canada she thanked me for being brave and coming.  I just said, "All things are temporary. "  She said, "Especially Presidents!"  

Neither she nor I felt we were supporting any political agenda by attending a Kennedy Center production. We were supporting the Opera company.

[quizqueen101]

Posted: 11/15/25 at 2:13pm

For being brave?  What does that mean?  Did she just assume you were a liberal?  Plenty of right wingers love the opera 

[inception]

Posted: 11/15/25 at 4:53pm

For still traveling to the US.

My doctor & her husband did an RV trip this past summer down to a bunch of national parks in the West,  and she told me last week thst everywhere they went people thanked them for still visiting the US despite all the craziness.

[quizqueen101]

Posted: 11/15/25 at 5:11pm

But why would that be a brave thing to visit the USA?