McCarter Theatre loses Over $200K in public funding as Trump administration, state slash arts support

McCarter Theatre Center, one of New Jersey’s most prominent nonprofit arts institutions, is grappling with more than $200,000 in public funding losses this fiscal year — a financial hit that threatens the sustainability of performances, educational outreach, and youth scholarship programs.

The cuts come in the wake of the Trump administration’s federal budget proposal, which calls for the elimination of the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, two of the country’s primary sources of government arts funding. The administration also proposed dismantling several smaller cultural agencies.

Shortly after the May 2 budget release, McCarter officials were notified that a previously approved $35,000 National Endowment for the Arts grant for its current season had been withdrawn.

The financial strain was compounded by additional state-level cuts. The New Jersey State Council on the Arts reduced McCarter’s funding by more than $170,000 for the current season.

“The state remains a significant supporter of McCarter’s work, even after its 20% reduction,” Martin Miller, executive director of McCarter Theatre, told Planet Princeton. “Taken together, though, the reductions have been difficult to metabolize — especially since our season budget was already in place with programs underway.”

Miller said the organization is preparing for the likelihood that government support will remain reduced for the next several years.

Ticket sales for McCarter make up a third of the organization’s budget, which supports not only performances on stage but also programs in local schools and scholarships for youth.

In an email to McCarter patrons Monday, Miller emphasized the national impact of cuts to the arts.

“Sadly, McCarter is far from alone in feeling the pain of this loss,” he wrote. “Artistic institutions across our community and country are learning of terminated grants to support programs that are already underway.”

Miller urged people to support cultural nonprofits in the community and use their voices to advocate for the importance of public support for the arts.

“The arts build empathy, transform our children’s lives by sparking creativity and imagination, and connect us to each other,” he wrote. “These shared experiences fulfill a basic human need and deserve to be enduringly supported in the kind of society we want to live in.”