Approaching its 100-year anniversary, McCarter Theatre has a long history of recruiting renowned artists to perform for the Princeton community. In the 2025–26 season alone, McCarter’s lineup features acts including Jacob Collier, Pink Martini, and Emanuel Ax. To finance these high-quality productions, McCarter has traditionally received support from public grants and corporate partners. Now, its government support has disappeared.
On May 2, the Trump administration announced plans to cut and redirect funding from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). For McCarter, that means no NEA funding at all. The loss translates to a reduction of approximately $200,000 in public funding this season compared to the last.
The theatre is losing funding from multiple sources. “Between the NEA and New Jersey State Council for the Arts, McCarter is expecting a three-year impact of over $600,000 in lost funds,” Martin Miller, McCarter’s Executive Director, wrote to The Daily Princetonian. Miller added that the $600,000 represents about 1.25 percent of McCarter’s annual spending, a noticeable loss in its $17 million annual budget.
The cuts come at a time when McCarter is still recovering from the impacts of the COVID shutdown. However, as the theater looks ahead to its 100th anniversary in 2030, Miller remains optimistic.
“We’ve made a commitment not to reduce the scope of the programs, and if anything, we’re being more ambitious than ever,” Miller wrote. “We’re not going anywhere.”
In the meantime, McCarter will continue to adjust as needed. “Even though that first impact happened in May, it’s going to be repeated this season and will be repeated again next year. So we just have to plan for it,” Miller said.
According to Miller, the greater concern these funding cuts have created is an “environment of uncertainty.” At a time when the instinct may be to reduce spending, Miller said that McCarter asks its partners — including sponsors, the University, and the very artists that grace their stages — to “stay the course with us.”
“The University values its longstanding, robust collaborations with McCarter, and we look forward to continuing that work together,” University Spokesperson Jennifer Morrill wrote to the ‘Prince.’
Beyond the University’s support, Miller shared stories of current and former community members taking action to support the theatre. A former Princeton resident whose family had loved McCarter, for example, sent a $10,000 check when he heard that their funding had been cut. Other community members have stopped Miller to share that they’ve taken out music, theater, and dance subscriptions at the theater. Subscribers receive exclusive benefits such as priority access, discounted prices, and flexible exchange policies.
“I’ve really come to see the arts as something that is energizing. Even when it’s a drama or a story that is hard, there’s something about being in community with people and being a part of something, supporting the arts, that has come to mean a lot to me,” said Donna Tatro, who works at the University’s Office of Information Technology and recently took out subscriptions to McCarter shows.
According to Miller, a feeling of community is exactly what McCarter strives for. He said that the arts “remain a unique vehicle for people coming together that might not otherwise sit next to each other to experience something that may expand their viewpoints in a way that their social media feed might not offer.”
While an enthusiastic community may not entirely fill the gap at McCarter left by funding cuts, at least for the short term, Miller still said that the solution is local.
“We all have collective power, and I think that participation is the first step,” Miller said. “Come experience these shows … get on the website and get a ticket.”
Annika Plunkett is a staff writer for The Prospect and a member of the Newsletter team. She can be reached at ap3616@princeton.edu.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com
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