The Broadway musical Wicked was hit with a lawsuit last week alleging that the production discriminated against white men, the second time this year that racial preferences have been challenged in the theater world.
The plaintiff, Kevin Lynch, a white composer who has won multiple awards, filed the complaint against Wicked after he was denied an apprenticeship with the top-grossing musical. The program required candidates to apply through one of two directories, MUSE and Maestra, that are restricted to minorities and “female and nonbinary musicians,” respectively. Lynch applied anyway, but was rejected. The complaint states that the role went to “a female and nonbinary person of color” with much less experience than Lynch, who has directed over 100 performances and won an award for music directing in 2014.
“Broadway is known for breaking rules, suspending reality, and—in the case of the blockbuster musical Wicked—defying gravity,” the complaint reads. “But one thing Broadway can’t defy is the law, including the many laws banning status-based discrimination. Sadly, even in the year 2026, major players in the New York theater community remain committed to that illegal project.”
The complaint, which names MUSE and Maestra as defendants alongside Wicked LLC, comes months after Lynch reached a settlement with a New York-area theater, Playwrights Horizons, that offered discounted tickets to minority patrons. Other venues have experimented with similar policies, such as reserving entire shows for black professionals. In 2019, for example, the New York Times described how one Boston-area theater had hosted a “black out” performance of “Choir Boy,” a play centered on “an effeminate gay black boy trying to find his voice at a prestigious prep school.”
Lynch said he had faced professional blowback for speaking out against such initiatives. But in an interview with the Washington Free Beacon, he argued it was “necessary” to stand on principle.
“My focus has never been on politics,” Lynch said. “My focus has been on fairness, the profession I love, and vindicating my rights.”
Wicked, MUSE, and Maestra did not respond to requests for comment.
The complaint contends that the three-week apprenticeship, which included a stipend and hands-on conducting opportunities, violated laws that ban race discrimination in employment and contracting. It notes that when Lynch tried to join Maestra, the employment directory for “female and nonbinary” musicians, he received a note that his application had been denied because it “did not indicate that your profile belongs in the Maestra community.“
The winning applicant, meanwhile, did not meet Wicked’s stated criteria for the apprenticeship, according to the complaint. Though the lawsuit does not name the winner, PJ Ju, an Asian American woman who uses they/them pronouns, boasted about receiving the apprenticeship on Instagram, thanking Maestra and MUSE for “developing these important programs to help us Defy Gravity!!!”
“Since the MD Experience, I’ve gotten six jobs,” Ju said, according to the lawsuit. “I’ve music directed seven new works.… It’s been great, I’m getting jobs, getting paid, and then hiring people.”
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