UPDATED, with new statement from Schwartz: Stephen Schwartz said that he will not be part of a planned May event at the Kennedy Center after its board voted last month to add Donald Trump‘s name to the venue.
Schwartz, the composer/lyricist of Wicked, had been on the bill to host the Washington National Opera Gala on May 16.
In a statement to Deadline, Schwartz said, “I was part of the original event that opened the Kennedy Center, the Bernstein Mass. The Kennedy Center was founded to be an apolitical home for artists of all nationalities and all ideologies. It is no longer apolitical, and appearing there has become an ideological statement. As long as that remains the case, I will not appear there.”
He told Newsday, which first reported on his statement, that before Trump took control of the board and became its chairman, he had been invited by artistic director Francesca Zambello to be part of the Washington National Opera event.
“But I’ve heard nothing about it since February 2025, so I have assumed it’s no longer happening,” Schwartz said, per Newsday. “I can’t imagine Francesca continuing under the current circumstances. If it is happening, of course I will not be part of it.”
Kennedy Center spokesperson Roma Daravi said in a statement, “Stephen Schwartz was never discussed nor confirmed and never had a contract by current Trump Kennedy Center leadership. Schwartz said himself that he ‘heard nothing about it since February 2025…assumed it’s no longer happening.’ It is completely false to report otherwise.”
The Kennedy Center website was still featuring access to ticket sales for a Stephen Schwartz event with the Washington National Opera. Schwartz said he would not participate in the event, planned for May 16.
But on the center website, the event was still on the schedule, with access to purchase tickets, and the logline: “Witness the links between musical theater and opera come alive in this thrilling concert! Acclaimed musical theater lyricist and composer Stephen Schwartz curates and hosts for one night only, bringing together an exciting lineup of soloists to perform beloved repertory.”
Schwartz is the latest performer to drop plans to appear at the center. After Trump fired board members appointed by Joe Biden and Barack Obama, he took control of the center, becoming its chairman. That was followed by a series of performers canceling plans for the center, including the producers of Hamilton, while figures like Renee Fleming exited roles as advisers. After the board voted to add Trump’s name to the center, performers dropped out of planned Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve shows, while Doug Varone and Dancers canceled a gig planned for April.
Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH), an ex officio member of the board, filed suit against the center last month, claiming that only Congress has the authority to change the name of the arts institution. In 1964, Congress designated it as the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as a memorial to the late president. The center opened in 1971, with Bernstein’s Mass.