Evil composer latest to cancel Kennedy Center show after Trump changes name

The composer of the musical “Wicked” said he will not appear at the Kennedy Center after its board of directors voted to include U.S. President Donald Trump’s name in the venue’s name.

Stephen Schwartz said in a statement that appearing at the center “has now become an ideological statement,” adding: “As long as this remains the case, I will not appear there.”

But the center’s president, Richard Grenell write on X Reports that he pulled out of a gala in May were “totally false” and that he had never signed on to attend.

The Oscar- and Grammy-winning composer is the latest to say they will no longer appear in national cultural institutions due to recent changes.

Schwartz told the BBC that at the end of 2024, the artistic director of the Washington National Opera invited him to join them for an event in May.

He said he had agreed but had heard little since February last year and believed it would never happen again.

The composer explained that a reporter contacted him on Thursday to say the gala was on the Kennedy Center schedule and asked if he would attend.

He was listed on the center’s website as someone who appeared at the gala, but that information was removed from the site Friday afternoon, According to CNN.

“The Kennedy Center was founded to be an apolitical home for free artistic expression by artists of all nationalities and ideologies,” Schwartz, 77, said.

“It’s no longer apolitical, being there has now become an ideological statement. As long as that’s still the case, I won’t be there.”

But Mr Grenell hit back: “Stephen Schwartz’s report is completely false. It’s shameful that woke high school reporters are repeating it.”

“He was never signed and I’ve never had any conversations with him since I arrived.

“He himself said last February that he had heard nothing about it.”

Two musical performances canceled their appearance at the center earlier this week.

Longtime jazz band The Cookers said they have canceled two New Year’s Eve shows. The organization did not mention Trump or the Kennedy Center in its statement but said the decision “was reached very quickly.”

Another group, Doug Varone and Dancers, said they would not perform two shows in April due to the name change, adding: “We can no longer allow ourselves or ask audiences to walk into this once great institution.”

Mr Grenell called the cancellation “a derangement syndrome”.

The move comes after jazz percussionist Chuck Redd canceled his annual Christmas Eve performance at the center since 2006 due to the name change.

Mr Grenell called it a “political stunt” Threatened to demand $1 million (£740,000) in damages.

The Kennedy Center’s board of directors, composed of Trump allies, voted in December to rename the institution the Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. The next day, new signage appeared on the exterior of the building.

Some U.S. lawmakers and legal scholars argue that because the center is named under a 1964 law, Congress must have a say in any name change.

Some members of President John F. Kennedy’s family condemned the move. The center was named in honor of JFK shortly after his assassination.

Joe Kennedy III, a former U.S. House member and grandnephew of the late president, said the site is a “living memorial to a fallen president and is named for President Kennedy in accordance with federal law.”

He added: “No matter what anyone says, it can’t be renamed, just like someone can rename the Lincoln Memorial.”