Composer Stephen Schwartz will not appear at the Kennedy Center after its board voted to rename the venue in honor of President Donald Trump — a move that has triggered widespread artist backlash and raised questions about the future of America’s premier performing arts institution.
Stephen Schwartz, the Oscar and Grammy-winning composer behind the Broadway sensation “Wicked,” has formally withdrawn from an upcoming performance at the Kennedy Center. The decision follows the institution’s controversial move to rename the venue “The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts,” a change that Schwartz and other artists view as a political statement incompatible with the center’s founding mission.
In a statement, Schwartz declared, “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.”
The center’s website had previously listed Schwartz as a featured performer in a May gala with the Washington National Opera, complete with a ticket-buying link. That listing was removed Friday afternoon, prompting confusion and speculation. Richard Grenell, the center’s board president, denied ever signing Schwartz to appear, calling reports of the cancellation “totally bogus.” He claimed Schwartz himself had said in February 2025 that he had not heard anything about the event.
Michael Cole, a spokesman for Schwartz, clarified that the composer and a representative from the Washington National Opera had been in communication about his “possible participation” in the gala as recently as February 2025. Cole noted that Schwartz had assumed the event was canceled after not hearing further updates — a misunderstanding that was corrected only Thursday night, when Schwartz learned the event was still scheduled.
The Kennedy Center, which opened in 1971 as a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy, has become a flashpoint in the cultural battle over artistic freedom and institutional neutrality. Since Trump’s loyalists took control of the board last year, a series of artists have canceled performances, citing the new political direction of the center. The decision to rename the venue has been met with legal skepticism, with experts questioning whether the board has the authority to alter the institution’s name — though no legal challenges have been formally filed.
The move has reverberated across the arts community. Doug Varone and Dancers, a New York City-based dance company, canceled their upcoming performances in solidarity. Director Doug Varone told CNN, “Everyone in our organization from our board to our dancers to our staff all supported this decision. I can’t imagine any artist wanting to step through those doors right now with his name on that building.”
The Kennedy Center has responded to the cancellations with threats of legal action against some artists, further intensifying the cultural and political divide. The center’s new leadership has also cut staff and reevaluated programming, signaling a fundamental shift in the institution’s priorities and values.
For many, Schwartz’s decision is emblematic of a larger cultural resistance. His withdrawal is not merely about a single event — it is a statement against the politicization of America’s most iconic arts venue. The Kennedy Center’s transformation under Trump’s influence has raised urgent questions about the future of artistic expression in the public sphere and the role of cultural institutions in preserving neutrality.
As the controversy continues to unfold, the Kennedy Center faces a critical juncture: Will it return to its founding principles of artistic freedom, or will it become a permanent symbol of political alignment? For now, the answer is clear — artists like Schwartz are choosing to withdraw, and the cultural landscape is watching closely.
Read more about the growing wave of artist cancellations at the Kennedy Center here, and explore expert analysis on the legal implications of the renaming here.
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