Richard Grenell, whom President Trump installed as the president of the Kennedy Center, claimed Monday night that the center’s deferred maintenance and its deficit — two things commonly found at nonprofit arts organizations — were “criminal” and said that he planned to refer them to federal prosecutors.
Speaking to Mr. Trump and a group of board members at a dinner in the White House’s State Dining Room, Mr. Grenell described the center’s deferred maintenance as “criminal” and then said that officials who looked at the center’s budgets for the last two years had “found $26 million in phantom revenue, fake revenue.”
“It’s criminal,” Mr. Grenell said. “We’re going to refer this to the U.S. attorney’s office here.”
Kennedy Center officials attributed the deficit figures to a review undertaken by its new chief financial officer, Donna Arduin. It was not immediately clear what officials thought might be criminal, or why officials thought it merited the attention of federal investigators. Nonprofit arts organizations like the Kennedy Center rely on a mix of philanthropy and ticket sales and often run deficits when they fall short of projections. Just over a decade ago the Metropolitan Opera ran a $22 million deficit.
Deborah F. Rutter, whom Mr. Trump fired as president when he took control of the center in February, was unavailable for comment. Mr. Trump took over the center after purging its formerly bipartisan board of Biden appointees, ousting its chairman, David M. Rubenstein, the financier, and becoming chairman himself.
A person close to the Kennedy Center’s former leaders said the center’s finances went through rigorous audits and noted that Pam Bondi, the attorney general and a member of the Kennedy Center’s board, had been on the center’s audit committee. In addition, the person said, it can take several years in the nonprofit world for pledges from donors to materialize as gifts.
Speaking at the dinner, Mr. Trump reiterated his complaints about the physical condition of the center. “When I said, I’ll do this, I hadn’t been there,” Mr. Trump said. “That’s the last time I’ll take a job without looking at it.” At one point, Mr. Trump compared his task at the Kennedy Center to his efforts to renovate Wollman Rink, an ice rink in New York’s Central Park, in the 1980s.
Earlier on Monday, the center announced that its next season would feature some big names in theater and dance, but also some conspicuous absences. And, in a break with the past, the center said it would present several touring Broadway shows with nonunion casts.
Artists have been divided about whether to perform at the center since Mr. Trump became its chairman after purging its previously bipartisan board of members appointed by Democrats.
The upcoming theater season will feature “The Outsiders,” which won last year’s Tony Award for best musical, but not “Hamilton,” which canceled a planned run there, citing dismay over Mr. Trump’s takeover. And its dance season will include performances by American Ballet Theater, New York City Ballet and the Stuttgart Ballet but not by the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, an annual fixture at the center in recent years, which said in a statement that it would pursue another opportunity next season.
Mr. Trump continues to play a big role in trying to reshape the center. He attended a board meeting at the center in March, recently requested $257 million from Congress to help with capital repairs and plans to attend a gala fund-raiser performance of “Les Misérables” in June.
The upcoming theater season underscores some of the changes unfolding at the center. In addition to “The Outsiders” it will include tours of “Back to the Future,” “Moulin Rouge!” and “Spamalot,” all of which feature unionized casts, as has been standard at the center in recent years.
But two of the tours coming to the Kennedy Center next season will feature nonunion casts, which tend to be paid less and cost less to present: “Chicago” and “Mrs. Doubtfire.”
The Kennedy Center had indicated in March that it anticipated turning to nonunion Broadway productions, and on Monday it touted the shift as a plus. Mr. Grenell told The Daily Caller, a conservative media outlet: “The Kennedy Center is the premier 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.”
Actors’ Equity Association, the union representing actors and stage managers, declined to comment.
Mr. Trump criticized the Kennedy Center on social media earlier this year for having “featured Drag Shows specifically targeting our youth.” But that concern did not prevent the center from booking “Chicago,” which features a character usually played by a man in drag, or “Mrs. Doubtfire,” which is about a man who dresses as a woman. “Moulin Rouge!” also features a character, Baby Doll, who is a drag queen.
The dance season includes acclaimed contemporary troupes founded by Martha Graham, Trisha Brown and Kyle Abraham.
But the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, which has been an annual fixture at the center, said it would not perform there next season. The company said in a statement that it had decided to “pursue an opportunity with a partner that has a global reach,” which it did not name, and that it hopes to return in the future.
Javier C. Hernández is a Times reporter who covers classical music, opera and dance in New York City and beyond.
Michael Paulson is the theater reporter for The Times.
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