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.”
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.
News of the 2026 Kennedy Center line-up was first reported today by the right-wing Daily Caller website under the headline “Trump-Run Kennedy Center Takes The Air Out Of Notorious Broadway Union.”
