Kennedy Center To Include Non-Equity Theater Productions Following Donald Trump Complaints
Two non-Equity national theatrical tours – Mrs. Doubtfire and Chicago – are on the 2026 schedule of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., marking a major shift in Kennedy Center policy that comes just two months after President Donald Trump complained about union costs.
A Kennedy Center spokesperson said in a statement to Deadline, 'In order for the Kennedy Center to be more competitive in the industry, we are expanding our programming to include both equity and non-equity shows in our theaters and look forward to providing world-class shows to our patrons, regardless of their equity status.'
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Richard Grenell, the Kennedy Center president installed by Trump earlier this year, said in a separate statement, 'The Kennedy Center is the premiere institution for the arts in America, so we don't want to limit the shows available to our audiences. The restrictive and expensive nature of union-only shows isn't good for a diverse community. We want more options, not fewer.'
Deadline has reached out to Actors' Equity Association and will update this post with a response. The Mrs. Doubtfire and Chicago tours are listed on Equity's roster of productions that are 'Non-Equity/No Union Contract For Equity Members.'
When Trump, who has named himself the Kennedy Center chairman, visited the arts institution in March he openly complained about, among other things, IATSE union rules and costs, telling reporters, 'Lee Greenwood wanted to sing a little song today, and because of the cost in the union structure for him to sing a song just for the board, just the board meeting, it was going to cost $30,000. They wanted $30,000 just to move a piano. So you can't have that.'
Equity prohibits its members from performing in or stage managing productions without an Equity contract. 'That's rule number one on the back of your Equity card,' Equity's website states. Non-Equity productions reduce costs by hiring non-union performers and crew who do not have the same protections and benefits offered by the union.
The Kennedy Center's 2026 theater line-up announced today also includes Monty Python's Spamalot, Moulin Rouge!, Bluey Returns, Back To The Future and The Outsiders, all Equity productions. The Center's website does not indicate whether a production is union or non-union.
Following months of layoffs and show cancelations, last week Kennedy Center administration staffers announced an organizing drive to form their own union to be called Kennedy Center United Arts Workers. In a statement, the staffers said, 'As the United Arts Workers of the Kennedy Center, our work is built on relationship and trust. Our artists, educators, students, donors, and patrons trust that we have their best interests at heart. And as staff, we trust that the institution will value and support us in exchange for being the workers who carry out its mission with joy and success.
'But on February 12, 2025, the Kennedy Center's board was stripped of its bipartisan structure. Our reputation as arts professionals was questioned and we were threatened with censorship. Instantly, that trust was broken. We no longer believe our institution trusts us and we no longer trust our institution.'
Today's news of the Center's 2026 theatrical line-up was first reported by right-wing website The Daily Caller.
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