The Kennedy Center is disputing reports that Wicked composer Stephen Schwartz has withdrawn as host of the Washington National Opera Gala, saying he was never booked for the May 16th event — even though tickets listing Schwartz’s name were available on the Kennedy Center’s website through Friday afternoon.
In an email to Newsday, Schwartz said the Kennedy Center “no longer represents the apolitical place for free artistic expression it was founded to be,” adding, There’s no way I would set foot in it now.”
“Last year, way before the change of Board and name of the Kennedy Center, I was invited by (director) Francesca Zambello to be part of a Washington National Opera event on May 16, 2026,” Schwartz said in his email to Newsday. “But I’ve heard nothing about it since February 2025, so I have assumed it’s no longer happening. I can’t imagine Francesca continuing under the current circumstances. If it is happening, of course I will not be part of it.”
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For its part, the Kennedy Center disputes that Schwartz was ever booked for the event by current leadership. “Stephen Schwartz was never discussed nor confirmed and never had a contract under current Trump Kennedy Center leadership,” Roma Daravi, the Kennedy Center’s vice president of public relations, said in a statement to Rolling Stone. “Schwartz said himself that he ‘heard nothing about it since February 2025…assumed it’s no longer happening.’ It is completely false to report otherwise.”
Kennedy Center president Ric Grenell went further in dismissing the reports, calling them “bogus” in a social media post. “He was never signed, and I’ve never had a single conversation about him since arriving,” Grenell wrote. “He himself said last February he hadn’t heard anything it.”
It unclear then why tickets for the Washington National Opera Gala — listing Schwartz as host — were available on the Kennedy Center’s website until around 3:00 p.m. local time on Friday. His name has since been removed. Consequence has reached out to the Kennedy Center for clarification.
Whether or not Schwartz was ever booked at the Kennedy Center — and therefore did or didn’t actually cancel a scheduled appearance — plenty of other artists have done so: Rhiannon Giddens, Ben Folds, Renée Fleming, a touring production of Hamilton, Christmas act Chuck Redd, and New Year’s eve performers The Cookers are among the numerous acts who’ve canceled appearances at the Kennedy Center in light of Trump’s takeover.