Acclaimed musical composer Stephen Schwartz has pulled out of his involvement in the Kennedy Center’s upcoming lineup, condemning the center’s renaming to include Donald Trump as antithetical to the “apolitical place for free artistic expression it was founded to be.”
“It no longer represents the apolitical place for free artistic expression it was founded to be,” Schwartz said in an email statement to Newsday. “There’s no way I would set foot in it now.”
Schwartz, who has helmed the scores of musicals including “Godspell,” “Pippin,” and “Wicked,” to name a few — many of which have been performed at the Kennedy Center — was set to host the Washington National Opera Gala on May 16, 2026. The one-night-only event was billed as bringing “together an exciting lineup of soloists to perform beloved repertory,” per the event description, with Schwartz’s name featured prominently.
“Stephen Schwartz was never discussed nor confirmed and never had a contract by current Trump Kennedy Center leadership,” Roma Daravi, VP of public relations for the Kennedy Center, said in a statement to TheWrap about the event. “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.”
However, the Trump Kennedy Center website page for the gala still lists the event with the following information: “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.” Tickets for the May event are also still available for purchase.
Schwartz adds to the growing list of musicians, artists and other performers who have retracted their involvement with the Washington, D.C. performing arts center after press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced on Dec. 18 that the Kennedy Center, formerly the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, would be renamed to the “Trump-Kennedy Center.”
Since the renaming, which has drawn criticism across the board and from members of the Kennedy family, Chuck Redd canceled his Christmas performance, while Doug Varone and Dancers, jazz group The Cookers and Kristy Lee all canceled their performances.
The renaming intensified backlash that began when Trump took over as the venue’s chairman, leading Ben Folds, Shonda Rhimes and Renée Fleming to resign from their leadership roles, while Issa Rae, Rhiannon Giddens and rock band Low Cut Connie all canceled their scheduled performances.
The shifts to the Kennedy Center also prompted ratings for the Trump-hosted 2025 Kennedy Center Honors to hit an all-time low, which the Kennedy center defended and called comparisons to previous years “evidence of far-left bias.”
