Stephen Schwartz says he will not host Kennedy Center gala, citing politicization

Stephen Schwartz, the composer of Wicked, said on Friday that he will no longer host a Washington National Opera gala at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, criticizing changes at the center under the Trump administration. In a statement to The New York Times, Mr. Schwartz said the Kennedy Center “was founded to be an apolitical home for free artistic expression for artists of all nationalities and ideologies,” but that “it is no longer apolitical and appearing there has now become an ideological statement.” He said he was asked at the end of 2024 by Francesca Zambello, the Washington National Opera’s artistic director, to participate in a May event and that he had last communicated with the opera about the event in February 2025, the month the Kennedy Center’s board was purged and replaced and subsequently voted to rename the building the Trump-Kennedy Center.

Ms. Zambello confirmed that Mr. Schwartz had long been scheduled to be a host of the opera’s gala on May 16 and declined further comment. The Kennedy Center’s vice president for public relations said Mr. Schwartz “was never discussed nor confirmed and never had a contract by current Trump Kennedy Center leadership,” and the center’s president, Richard Grenell, wrote on social media that the reports were “totally bogus.” The center had promoted Mr.

Key Topics

Culture, Stephen Schwartz, Kennedy Center, Washington National Opera, Francesca Zambello, Richard Grenell