Wicked Composer Stephen Schwartz walked out of an event at the Kennedy Center, citing Donald Trump’s takeover of the venue.
Schwartz, one of Broadway’s most influential composers, has announced that he will no longer participate in a program scheduled for the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.
In an email statement to news daySchwartz explained that he could not “set foot” in the Kennedy Center under Trump’s leadership.
He believes the venue’s association with President Donald Trump compromises the institution’s original mission.
He emphasized that the venue was founded to be an apolitical home for artists of all backgrounds and ideologies, but that its recent changes have turned appearances there into ideological statements.
Kennedy Center spokeswoman Roma Daravi said Entertainment Weekly Friday that “Stephen Schwartz was never discussed or confirmed and never had a contract with the current leadership of the Trump Kennedy Center” to headline the event.
However, before that statement, the outlet had reviewed a Kennedy Center website that promoted a program titled Washington National Opera Gala: with Stephen Schwartz, scheduled for May 16.
Shortly after the outlet requested comment, the list was updated to remove Schwartz’s name.
The Kennedy Center board’s decision to attach Trump’s name to the venue has sparked a backlash throughout the arts community.
Just a week ago, musician Chuck Redd canceled his Christmas Eve jazz concert at the Kennedy Center, a tradition that had spanned two decades.
“When I saw the name change on the Kennedy Center’s website and then hours later on the building, I decided to cancel our concert,” the drummer and vibraphonist behind the annual Christmas Eve Jazz Jam said in a statement to the Associated Press.
