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Aisha Jackson (Broadway’s The Great Gatsby, Frozen), Brittney Johnson (first Black woman to play Glinda in Wicked on Broadway), Rachel Bay Jones (Tony Award winner; Catherine in Broadway revival of Pippin), Telly Leung (Broadway revival of Godspell; currently appearing as the Phantom in Masquerade), Mary Kate Morrissey (recently Elphaba in Wicked on Broadway), Sherie Rene Scott (three-time Tony Award nominee; recently in Broadway’s The Queen of Versailles), Paulo Szot (Tony Award winner), and Mary Testa (three-time Tony Award nominee), will now join The New York Pops, led by Music Director and Conductor Steven Reineke, to honor Grammy, Academy, and Tony Award winning composer Stephen Schwartz at the orchestra’s 43rd Birthday Gala, Changed for Good: A Celebration of Stephen Schwartz, on Monday, April 27, 2026 at 7:00 p.m. in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall.
Aisha Jackson, Rachel Bay Jones, Brittney Johnson, Telly Leung, Mary Kate Morrissey, Sherie Rene Scott, Paulo Szot, and Mary Testa join previously announced guest artists from across the entertainment industry including Grammy Award winner and Tony Award nominee Shoshana Bean, Tony Award nominee Judy Kuhn, Tony Award winner Lindsay Mendez, and Tony, Grammy and Emmy Award winner Ben Platt who will collaborate with The New York Pops to pay tribute to Stephen Schwartz. Auliʻi Cravalho will no longer be appearing on the concert program. Additional guest artists to be announced.
Stephen Schwartz wrote the music and lyrics for the current Broadway hit Wicked and has also contributed music and/or lyrics to Godspell, Pippin, The Magic Show, The Baker’s Wife, Working (which he also adapted and directed), Rags, Children of Eden, and The Queen of Versailles. For film, in addition to the two-part adaptation of Wicked, he wrote the songs for The Prince of Egypt and collaborated with Alan Menken on the songs for Disney’s Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Enchanted.
Proceeds from the Gala support The New York Pops orchestra and the organization’s PopsEd music education programs. The concert is followed by a black-tie optional dinner and dance at the Mandarin Oriental New York.
