Evil composer Stephen Schwartz has pulled out of a Kennedy Center event, citing Donald Trump’s takeover of the venue as the reason.
Schwartz, one of Broadway’s most influential composers, has announced that he will no longer participate in a planned Kennedy Center program in Washington, DC
In an email statement to News dayexplained Schwartz 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 performances there into ideological statements.
The spokesman for the Kennedy Center, Roma Daravi, said this Weekly entertainment on Friday that “Stephen Schwartz was never discussed or confirmed and never had a contract with current Trump Kennedy Center management” to headline the event.
Still, prior to that statement, the outlet had reviewed a Kennedy Center website promoting a program titled Washington National Opera Gala: Featuring 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 backlash throughout the arts community.
Just a week ago, musician Chuck Redd canceled his long-running 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 website and then hours later on the building, I chose to cancel our concert,” the drummer and vibraphonist behind the annual Christmas Eve Jazz Jam said in a statement to Associated Press.
