Industry News
The Hostile Takeover of KenCen
In February Donald Trump moved with impressive speed to seize control of The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, firing trustees appointed by his predecessor and filling their slots with loyalists who quickly anointed him chairman. Gone were David Rubenstein, the former chairman and donor of more than $100 million, and Deborah Rutter, the president for the past decade. In her place was Richard Grenell, a Trump consigliere who possesses no experience in arts management.
Grenell moved quickly to consolidate control—several senior administrators were fired, and Donna Arduin, the former budget director for the governor of Alaska, was named as the new chief financial officer. In March Grenell outlined his intention to cut back on “niche” offerings, saying the Center “had spent way too much on programming that doesn’t bring in any revenue.”
Many of these “niche” offerings (which generally paid for themselves through restricted grants) were generated by the Center’s social impact department, which focused on working with marginalized, vulnerable artists and audiences. In late March the department was gutted, losing seven of its ten employees.
One of several Atlantic City casinos that went bankrupt under Trump
At the same time, the outside world began to take notice. Renée Fleming resigned as artistic adviser to the Center, and high-profile performers like Rhiannon Giddens dropped plans to perform. Lin Manuel Miranda canceled the production of Hamilton at the Center, and other touring Broadway shows have been postponed or called off, leading one staff member to tell a New Yorker reporter, “I have no idea when we’ll be able to announce a theatre season.”
Faulty numbers
Grenell and Arduin seem intent on portraying the Kennedy Center as under financial threat. In an internal email, Arduin claimed that Rutter’s team had left an operating deficit of more than a $100 million. But her assertion considered only earned revenue, not contributions that in 2023 accounted for about 40 percent, or $114 million, of the Center’s revenue budget of $286 million. Grenell has accused his predecessor of “criminal” financial mismanagement, saying that the more than $45 million of federal funds designated for physical upkeep had been spent on D.E.I. initiatives.
Public records as well as reports from former employees demonstrate that such claims have no basis in reality. In fact, under Rutter’s leadership the Center’s endowment grew more than 50 percent, and between 2014 and 2023, the Center ran a surplus for six years. The two years it did not coincided with the pandemic. Under the new regime, ticket sales fell by 50 percent in February, and the institution has had to refund more than a $100,000 in small donations.
Trump’s desire to make the Kennedy Center a “very special place” is parroted by his appointees to the governing board. One trustee is excited for a “return to commonsense programming” shaped by family values. Any concerns she has about the Center’s financial health are assuaged by Trump’s involvement. “We have one of the best businessmen in the world stepping in and putting a lot of energy into turning the Kennedy Center around,” she told The New Yorker. Sure--just like he did with his casinos and so many other of his financial “successes.”
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