Broadway composer Stephen Schwartz exits Kennedy Center event amid tensions with US President Donald Trump
One of Broadway’s most celebrated living composers has withdrawn from plans to host a major gala at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, citing concerns about the institution’s political direction under Donald Trump.
According to a report by The New York Times, Stephen Schwartz, the composer behind Wicked, said his decision came after Trump added his name to the storied cultural institution and reshaped its leadership. Schwartz, a longtime supporter of the Kennedy Center, said the move undermined what he believes the venue was meant to represent.
He told the Times that the Kennedy Center “was founded to be an apolitical home for free artistic expression for artists of all nationalities and ideologies.” “It is no longer apolitical and appearing there has now become an ideological statement,” Schwartz said. “As long as that remains the case, I will not appear there.”
In a separate statement to Newsday, he was even more direct: “There’s no way I would set foot in it now.”
Schwartz is a towering figure in American musical theater and film. In addition to Wicked, he composed the music for Broadway classics Godspell and Pippin, and won three Academy Awards for his work on the animated films Pocahontas and The Prince of Egypt. He told the Times that Francesca Zambello, artistic director of the Washington National Opera, had asked him in late 2024 to host a gala for the opera at the Kennedy Center scheduled for May 16 this year.
Schwartz said he initially agreed, but noted that he had not spoken with anyone at the Kennedy Center for more than a year. In February of last year, Trump appointed himself chairman of the Kennedy Center and replaced its board with political allies, a move that sparked concern across the arts community.
Kennedy Center officials have disputed Schwartz’s account. In a statement to the Times, vice president for public relations Roma Daravi said, “Stephen Schwartz was never discussed nor confirmed and never had a contract by the current Trump Kennedy Center leadership.” Kennedy Center president Richard Grenell, who previously served as acting director of national intelligence during Trump’s first term, echoed that claim on X.
“The Stephen Schwartz reports are totally bogus,” Grenell wrote. “He was never signed, and I’ve never had a single conversation on him since arriving. He himself said last February he hadn’t heard anything on it.”
Schwartz is the latest prominent artist to distance himself from the Kennedy Center since Trump’s takeover. Jazz group The Cookers recently canceled a New Year’s Eve concert, guitarist Chuck Redd pulled out of a Christmas Eve performance, and Doug Varone and Dancers canceled two April shows that would have brought in roughly $40,000 for the company.
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