The Kennedy Center is seriously struggling to fill its seats as President Donald Trump’s rebrand of the institution falls flat with audiences in the capital.
Last week, the Trump-controlled center hired Stephen Nakagawa, who reportedly described himself as a “MAGA former dancer,” as its new director of dance programming.
Although Nakagawa, a critic of what he calls “radical leftist ideologies” in ballet, may fit into Trump’s bid to reshape the center into a “non-woke” entertainment destination, he faces an uphill battle to attract the D.C. public to a venue the president has all but branded as his own.
The center’s Opera House, which Republicans are hoping to rename after first lady Melania Trump, is expected to be just 4 to 19 percent full for the Stuttgart Ballet’s run next month, according to ticket sales data reviewed by the Washingtonian.
Another dance troupe, BodyTraffic, is set to perform to a house at 12 percent capacity in the smaller Eisenhower Theatre in late October. And the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, which has long performed at the center, has taken its show to the Warner Theatre instead.
“Big yikes,” a current Kennedy Center staffer who supplied the data told the Washingtonian.
The magazine also reported that subscription revenue has plunged roughly 50 percent. In June, revenue from subscriptions for the upcoming season of programming was already down 36 percent from the year before.
The sales crisis suggests Washingtonians aren’t eager to pay steep ticket prices at the center, hijacked by Trump in February, especially as he pushes ahead with his highly unpopular military takeover of the city.
When Trump and Melania attended the first night of Les Misérables in June and stepped out from their box in the auditorium, they were greeted with a chorus of boos, though the pro-Trump contingent in the audience responded by cheering and chanting “USA! USA!”
Nakagawa landed his new job after sending a letter to Richard Grenell, the center’s Trump-appointed president, complaining about the “rise of ‘woke’ culture” at ballet companies, according to a copy obtained by The New York Times.
“Through bold programming and a renewed commitment to artistic excellence, I would love to be part of a movement to end the dominance of leftist ideologies in the arts and return to classical ballet’s purity and timeless beauty,” wrote Nakagawa, a former dancer with the Washington Ballet.
The Washingtonian noted that the California native often played antagonists while performing with the Washington Ballet, including Von Rothbart in Swan Lake and the evil drag queen Carabosse in Sleeping Beauty.
When Trump installed Grenell at the center earlier this year he declared on Truth Social, “NO MORE DRAG SHOWS, OR OTHER ANTI-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA — ONLY THE BEST.”
The president, who in his youth dreamed of becoming a theater producer, later suggested bringing in musicals like Cats, Phantom of the Opera, and Fiddler on the Roof in place of “woke” programming.
Nakagawa replaced Jane Rabinowitz Raleigh, whom Grenell fired on August 21, shortly after he instructed the dance team to develop programming that was more “broadly appealing” and less “niche,” citing shows like So You Think You Can Dance?, according to the Times.
The Daily Beast has reached out to the Kennedy Center for comment.
