Stephen Schwartz, the Oscar-winning composer of “Wicked,” “Godspell” and “Pippin,” is the latest artist to boycott the newly renamed Trump Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, apparently in protest of the current president’s takeover of the D.C. venue.
The Long Island-raised lyricist had been scheduled to host the Washington National Opera Gala on May 16, but said in a statement to Newsday that there’s “no way” he’d “set foot” in the building as it “no longer represents the apolitical place for free artistic expression it was founded to be.”
Controversy has been swirling around the Kennedy Center ever since President Trump replaced its board with his supporters and named himself its chairman in February 2025. The move, designed to purge the institution of what Trump called “woke” programming, prompted a wave of cancellations from performers including the producers of “Hamilton” and actor Issa Rae.
Even more artists have joined their ranks since Trump revealed he’d be adding his own name to the cultural center in December. Shortly after, the name was changed on its website and signage outside the concert hall was altered to read: “The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”
Schwartz explained he was invited by director Francesca Zambello to host the opera event “way before the change of Board and name of the Kennedy Center,” but added that he hadn’t heard anything about it since February.
He said he had assumed it was no longer happening as he “can’t imagine Francesca continuing under the current circumstances,” but emphasized he would “not be a part” of any programming so long as Trump remains in control. A spokesperson later told CNN that Schwartz had only learned on Thursday night that the event was still scheduled.
In response, Richard Grenell, the president of the Kennedy Center’s board, denied that Schwartz had ever been scheduled to host the gala — despite the website prominently attaching his name to the event with a link to purchase tickets.
“He was never signed and I’ve never had a single conversation on him since arriving,” Grenell wrote in a post on X, calling reports of Schwartz’s cancellation “totally bogus.”
The evening with Schwartz was being promoted on the website as recently as Thursday, though all references to the Broadway composer appeared to have been scrubbed by Friday afternoon.
The Kennedy Center opened in 1971, designated by an Act of Congress as a “living memorial” to assassinated President John F. Kennedy. Schwartz, in a collaboration with Leonard Bernstein, served as a co-writer for “Mass,” the first performance to be held following its opening.
Up until Friday, Schwartz was one of the few big names who still had an appearance listed on the Kennedy Center’s calendar for 2026. In the days before, a slew of artists announced cancellations, including New York-based acts like the Asian AF comedy troupe, musician Wayne Tucker and his band, The Bad Mothas, and dance company Doug Varone and Dancers.
Varone, appearing Friday on CNN’s “Erin Burnett OutFront,” said that despite taking a financial loss, everyone in the group supported the decision to cancel.
“I can’t imagine any artist wanting to step through those doors right now with [Trump’s] name on that building,” he said.
As of Saturday, the Martha Graham Dance Company and the New York City Ballet were still listed as scheduled Kennedy Center performers in the upcoming months.
