‘Wicked’ composer Stephen Schwartz cancels performance at Trump-Kennedy Center amid rebrand
Wicked composer Stephen Schwartz has cancelled an upcoming performance at the Kennedy Center following Donald Trump‘s rebranding of the venue to the Trump-Kennedy Center.
Schwartz was due to host the Washington National Opera Gala at the Trump-Kennedy Center on May 16th, but he will no longer be participating in the event.
In an email sent by his assistant to Newsday, Schwartz said of the reasoning for his decision to join the growing boycott, “It no longer represents the apolitical place for free artistic expression it was founded to be.”
He categorically insisted, “There’s no way I would set foot in it now.”
Schwartz’s cancellation of his scheduled appearance comes shortly after Kennedy Center president Richard Grenell alleged on social media that CNN and The Washington Post were encouraging artists to pull out of upcoming shows.
He posted on X: “I have just been informed by some booked artists that they are receiving emails from CNN and The Washington Post encouraging them to boycott the Trump Kennedy Center. The legacy media are left wing activists – and they are open about it.”
Grenell continued, “The legacy media are left wing activists – and they are open about it.”
Last week, Grenell announced his intentions to sue Chuck Redd after the jazz musician pulled the plug on this year’s performance of the Kennedy Center’s annual Jazz Jams Christmas concert. Redd has led the show since 2006.
Redd said of the cancellation, “When I saw the name change on the Kennedy Center website and then hours later on the building, I chose to cancel our concert.”
In response, the Kennedy Center president outlined his plans to seek $1m in damages from Redd and labelled the axing of the show as a “political stunt.”
Since Trump returned to the White House to begin his second term in 2025 and overhauled the Kennedy Center by appointing a new board, entertainers such as Issa Rae, Peter Wolf, and Lin-Manuel Miranda are among the notable names to cancel performances.
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