Stephen Schwartz won't host Kennedy Center gala after Trump name change
- - USA TODAY and Yahoo may earn commission from links in this article. Pricing and availability subject to change.Stephen Schwartz won't host Kennedy Center gala after Trump name change
Anthony Robledo, USA TODAYJanuary 3, 2026 at 3:56 AM
0
"Wicked" composer Stephen Schwartz has no plans to host a gala at the historic institution formerly known as the John F. Kennedy Center, following its renaming in honor of President Donald Trump.
The musical theater composer and lyricist told Newsday he was invited last February to participate in the Washington National Opera's 2026 gala at the Trump-Kennedy Center.
But "it no longer represents the apolitical place for free artistic expression it was founded to be," Schwartz said in a statement to Newsday. "There’s no way I would set foot in it now."
Stephen Schwartz attends the 54th annual Songwriters Hall of Fame induction and awards gala in New York on June 12, 2025.
In his statement, Schwartz said that Francesca Zambello, the opera's artistic director, had invited him to be part of the May 16 event before President Trump purged and replaced members of the Kennedy Center’s board. The new board of trustees unanimously voted to change the name on Dec. 18, according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
USA TODAY has reached out to Schwartz and Zambello for details.
The Trump-Kennedy Center denies Stephen Schwartz was ever involved with galato rename the facility "The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts."
" style=padding-bottom:56%>Workers begin adjusting the name of the "John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts" on December 19, 2025 in Washington, DC. The Kennedy Center Board of Trustees voted in what they say was a unanimous decision to rename the facility "The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts."
" data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/AtdUkPtjbaK_477exikEww--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/0b1c241852f93160c49ebc7722807365 class=caas-img data-headline="John F. Kennedy Memorial Center adds Trump to name. See the change" data-caption="
Workers begin adjusting the name of the "John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts" on December 19, 2025 in Washington, DC. The Kennedy Center Board of Trustees voted in what they say was a unanimous decision to rename the facility "The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts."
">Workers begin adjusting the name of the "John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts" on December 19, 2025 in Washington, DC. The Kennedy Center Board of Trustees voted in what they say was a unanimous decision to rename the facility "The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts."
" src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/AtdUkPtjbaK_477exikEww--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/0b1c241852f93160c49ebc7722807365 class=caas-img>Workers begin adjusting the name of the "John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts" on December 19, 2025 in Washington, DC.
" data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/1FrEJoSV0tqsptzGieGGQQ--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/0ad6c938f929e3926dcfeb3cc2160d83 class=caas-img data-headline="John F. Kennedy Memorial Center adds Trump to name. See the change" data-caption="
Workers begin adjusting the name of the "John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts" on December 19, 2025 in Washington, DC.
">Workers begin adjusting the name of the "John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts" on December 19, 2025 in Washington, DC.
" src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/1FrEJoSV0tqsptzGieGGQQ--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/0ad6c938f929e3926dcfeb3cc2160d83 class=caas-img>Workers begin adjusting the name of the "John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts" on December 19, 2025 in Washington, DC.
" data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/1YmVbU2l7JGxUfoD2eYncw--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/5e3924789ff6f0ae598e972be28f92c2 class=caas-img data-headline="John F. Kennedy Memorial Center adds Trump to name. See the change" data-caption="
Workers begin adjusting the name of the "John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts" on December 19, 2025 in Washington, DC.
">Workers begin adjusting the name of the "John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts" on December 19, 2025 in Washington, DC.
" src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/1YmVbU2l7JGxUfoD2eYncw--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/5e3924789ff6f0ae598e972be28f92c2 class=caas-img>Workers begin adjusting the name of the "John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts" on December 19, 2025 in Washington, DC.
" data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/x8I3UaWcMeG8Ldz24OlqyA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/be2e1cdbc589282f9c7acfe67acd1ea0 class=caas-img data-headline="John F. Kennedy Memorial Center adds Trump to name. See the change" data-caption="
Workers begin adjusting the name of the "John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts" on December 19, 2025 in Washington, DC.
">Workers begin adjusting the name of the "John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts" on December 19, 2025 in Washington, DC.
" src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/x8I3UaWcMeG8Ldz24OlqyA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/be2e1cdbc589282f9c7acfe67acd1ea0 class=caas-img>Workers begin adjusting the name of the "John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts" on December 19, 2025 in Washington, DC.
" data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/SXQ2aKDe4SX8_wj4QvjHyg--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/0454e328622a39000a7fbe66b196ddfd class=caas-img data-headline="John F. Kennedy Memorial Center adds Trump to name. See the change" data-caption="
Workers begin adjusting the name of the "John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts" on December 19, 2025 in Washington, DC.
">Workers begin adjusting the name of the "John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts" on December 19, 2025 in Washington, DC.
" src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/SXQ2aKDe4SX8_wj4QvjHyg--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/0454e328622a39000a7fbe66b196ddfd class=caas-img>Workers begin adjusting the name of the "John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts" on December 19, 2025 in Washington, DC.
" data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/8cWmc6jTaEC4m6psjF__0A--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/a156437df21f789aedb2f11dfd1314d5 class=caas-img data-headline="John F. Kennedy Memorial Center adds Trump to name. See the change" data-caption="
Workers begin adjusting the name of the "John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts" on December 19, 2025 in Washington, DC.
">Workers begin adjusting the name of the "John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts" on December 19, 2025 in Washington, DC.
" src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/8cWmc6jTaEC4m6psjF__0A--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/a156437df21f789aedb2f11dfd1314d5 class=caas-img>Workers begin adjusting the name of the "John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts" on December 19, 2025 in Washington, DC.
" data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/DnufNB8MjYV8Un7ErVuE6w--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/6d3d0c1a104b46a8f3814f5c6f0899ab class=caas-img data-headline="John F. Kennedy Memorial Center adds Trump to name. See the change" data-caption="
Workers begin adjusting the name of the "John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts" on December 19, 2025 in Washington, DC.
">Workers begin adjusting the name of the "John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts" on December 19, 2025 in Washington, DC.
" src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/DnufNB8MjYV8Un7ErVuE6w--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/6d3d0c1a104b46a8f3814f5c6f0899ab class=caas-img>Workers begin adjusting the name of the "John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts" on December 19, 2025 in Washington, DC.
" data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/IE.UKXbrkLf_eMaiahM9YA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/454c0ad64752d787d2b46505c340d4d0 class=caas-img data-headline="John F. Kennedy Memorial Center adds Trump to name. See the change" data-caption="
Workers begin adjusting the name of the "John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts" on December 19, 2025 in Washington, DC.
">Workers begin adjusting the name of the "John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts" on December 19, 2025 in Washington, DC.
" src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/IE.UKXbrkLf_eMaiahM9YA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/454c0ad64752d787d2b46505c340d4d0 class=caas-img>
1 / 8John F. Kennedy Memorial Center adds Trump to name. See the change
Workers begin adjusting the name of the "John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts" on December 19, 2025 in Washington, DC. The Kennedy Center Board of Trustees voted in what they say was a unanimous decision to rename the facility "The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts."
The center's spokesperson, Roma Daravi, said in a statement that Schwartz was "never discussed nor confirmed and never had a contract by current Trump Kennedy Center leadership."
Trump-Kennedy Center president Richard Grenell echoed this on X Jan. 2, adding that "the Stephen Schwartz reports are totally bogus."
"Shame on the woke high school reporters repeating it. He was never signed and I’ve never had a single conversation on him since arriving," Grenell wrote.
A brochure promoting the Washington National Opera's 2025-2026 season stated that Schwartz would curate and host the gala, the New York Times reported.
The Trump-Kennedy Center threatens legal action against Chuck Redd over cancellation
Following backlash to its name change, the Trump-Kennedy Center threatened legal action against vibraphonist and drummer Chuck Redd after he canceled a Christmas Eve performance in protest.
In a Dec. 26 letter addressed to Redd and obtained by USA TODAY, Grenell threatened to "seek $1 million in damages" from Redd for what he called a "political stunt" that "has cost us considerably."
The jazz musician told The and CNN on Dec. 24 that he'd canceled his appearance in the Christmas Eve Jazz Jam "when I saw the name change."
"Your decision to withdraw at the last moment − explicitly in response to the Center’s recent renaming, which honors President Trump's extraordinary efforts to save this national treasure − is classic intolerance and very costly to a non-profit Arts institution," Grenell's letter read.
In a Dec. 29 statement to USA TODAY, Daravi doubled down on its criticism of Redd: "Any artist cancelling their show at the Trump-Kennedy Center over political differences isn't courageous or principled − they are selfish, intolerant."
Contributing: KiMi Robinson, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Stephen Schwartz won't host Kennedy Center gala after name change
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
