Stephen Schwartz, composer of the hit musical “Wicked,” is no longer hosting a gala at the Kennedy Center this year following the Trump administration’s takeover of the performing arts venue.
Schwartz said in a statement Saturday that the Kennedy Center was "founded to be an apolitical home for free artistic expression for artists of all nationalities and ideologies." He said that was no longer the case and that "appearing there has now become an ideological statement."
"As long as that remains the case, I will not appear there," he added.
Schwartz, a three-time Oscar- and Grammy-winning artist who also composed the musicals “Pippin” and “Godspell,” said in an email that he was invited in December 2024 to host a May 2026 gala in honor of the Washington National Opera by its artistic director, Francesca Zambello.
Schwartz was part of the event that opened the Kennedy Center in 1971, writing lyrics for the musical theater piece "Mass," which Jacqueline Onassis Kennedy commissioned Leonard Bernstein to compose in honor of President John F. Kennedy for the center's inauguration.
Zambello confirmed that she invited Schwartz to host the event, telling NBC News in an email Friday that Schwartz "kindly agreed to host our gala and curate the program." She shared a page from what she said was the Washington National Opera's March 2025 brochure, which listed Schwartz as host of the upcoming event.
"We respect his personal views," Zambello said, adding that she had no further comment.
Roma Daravi, a spokesperson for the Kennedy Center, disputed that Schwartz had been scheduled to host the gala, saying he was “never discussed nor confirmed and never had a contract by the current Trump Kennedy Center leadership.”
Kennedy Center interim President Richard Grenell called media reports about Schwartz’s canceling “bogus,” writing on X that he “was never signed and I’ve never had a single conversation on him since arriving.”
Ticketing websites have promoted Schwartz as hosting the event; his name did not appear on the Kennedy Center’s website Friday night.
Several artists have canceled their performances after the board voted to add Trump's name to the venue. Recent cancellations left the center with gaps in programming for the December holidays and dates in the new year.
The jazz artist Chuck Redd canceled a Christmas Eve concert he had hosted since 2006, and the jazz band The Cookers canceled their New Year's Eve appearance. Folk singer Kristy Lee and the dance group Doug Varone and Dancers canceled their January and April performances, respectively, citing the center’s name change.
Earlier cancellations, before the board vote, included Issa Rae and “Hamilton,” the musical.
Daravi said in a previous statement, “Any artist cancelling their show at the Trump Kennedy Center over political differences isn’t courageous or principled—they are selfish, intolerant, and have failed to meet the basic duty of a public artist: to perform for all people.”
The center’s board voted in early December to rename the venue to include Trump’s name, months after he replaced the board with a handpicked set of members who made him their chair in February. One day after the renaming vote, Trump’s name was affixed to the center’s facade.
Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, an ex officio member of the board, sued the Trump administration last month, arguing that the board’s renaming of the center, which Congress created, violates federal law.
