ARIANA GRANDE AND JONATHAN BAILEY EXITED, AND THEIR 2027 SONDHEIM REVIVAL IS NOW OFF!

Producers intended to recast the Wicked stars, but Sunday in the Park With George will no longer reach London’s Barbican as scheduled.

Well, this one officially went from “maybe they can save it” to “yeah, this version is definitely not happening.”

The planned 2027 London revival of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Sunday in the Park With George will no longer move forward at the Barbican after both Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey withdrew from the production. Grande was originally set to play Dot opposite Bailey’s George, reuniting the Wicked stars under director Marianne Elliott and instantly turning an already prestigious Sondheim revival into something much bigger in the pop-culture conversation.

And obviously, that pairing was a huge part of the excitement. Ariana and Jonathan coming back together after Wicked, but this time tackling Sondheim onstage? That is the kind of casting announcement that reaches way beyond regular theater audiences. People who might never normally follow news about a Sondheim revival suddenly had a reason to know this one existed.

At first, Empire Street Productions appeared determined to keep going. The company maintained that the revival would continue with different performers, casting conversations reportedly began, and the creative team seemed prepared to reshape the production around a new company. Unfortunately, that rescue plan has now fallen apart too, at least as far as 2027 is concerned.

Grande withdrew in August while preparing to step away from public-facing work following her Eternal Sunshine tour. Her representative connected the decision to the continuing scrutiny surrounding her health and appearance. Bailey departed roughly a month later, describing Grande as one of his closest friends while also expressing his continued support for Elliott, with whom he previously worked on the acclaimed revival of Company.

Losing one of them would have been difficult. Losing both completely changes what this production was being sold as. Yes, Sunday in the Park With George is an extraordinary musical with a Pulitzer Prize for Drama and a legacy that absolutely does not depend on celebrity casting, but we also have to acknowledge the reality of this specific revival. Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey were not just two names somewhere underneath the title. Their reunion was a massive part of the event.

When Bailey initially withdrew, the production said work would continue and new casting decisions were underway. That made it sound like Elliott and the producers genuinely believed they could rebuild the revival without the original leads. Less than two weeks later, however, Empire Street Productions confirmed that the 2027 Barbican run would no longer proceed as scheduled.

According to the Associated Press, Empire Street Productions still holds the theatrical rights and is considering mounting the production in 2028. So this is not necessarily the end of the revival forever, but it is absolutely the end of the version audiences thought they were getting next year.

And that distinction matters. This is not a little scheduling adjustment where everyone moves rehearsals around for a few weeks and eventually gets back together. There is currently no replacement cast, no new venue and no confirmed 2028 schedule. The Barbican production that was announced is off, and anything that happens from here would essentially need to establish a new identity.

That could actually become interesting if the producers handle it correctly. Elliott is an experienced director, and Sondheim certainly does not need movie stars to make his material meaningful. A new cast could bring something completely unexpected to George and Dot rather than trying to imitate chemistry audiences associate with Grande and Bailey. Honestly, trying to recreate what people imagined the Wicked reunion would be is probably the fastest way to make a future production feel like a consolation prize.

Still, there is no pretending that the original casting did not create a special opportunity. Grande moving from Glinda and the enormous spectacle surrounding Wicked into the much more intimate emotional territory of Dot could have been fascinating. Bailey returning to the London stage with the increased visibility generated by Bridgerton, Wicked and his growing film career made the combination even more intriguing.

The appeal was not simply, “Look, famous people are doing Sondheim.” These are two performers who already demonstrated chemistry together, stepping into a musical about art, obsession, relationships and what people sacrifice in the pursuit of creating something meaningful. There was genuine artistic potential underneath all the celebrity attention, which is why losing this production feels like more than another casting change.

There is also something almost painfully appropriate about the entire situation. Sunday in the Park With George is deeply concerned with unfinished ideas, the demands of creation and the complicated relationship between artists, their work and the people around them. Now this revival has basically become its own unfinished canvas. Somewhere, Sondheim’s ghost is probably looking at the situation like, “Seriously?”

Empire Street Productions says it intends to retain the rights with hopes of presenting a production in 2028, although nothing beyond that intention has been confirmed. The additional year could give Elliott and the producers enough breathing room to find performers who can make George and Dot completely their own while also determining whether the economics of the revival still make sense without the original stars attached.

That second part cannot be ignored. Theater is art, but large theatrical productions are also businesses. Grande and Bailey brought international press attention and a potentially enormous audience with them. Any new version has to convince investors and ticket buyers that this production, with this cast, deserves their attention rather than relying on excitement generated by two performers who are no longer involved.

There is another tricky problem too. Whoever eventually gets cast cannot be treated as “the people replacing Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey.” That is unfair to the performers and probably disastrous for the production. If this really returns in 2028, the marketing has to give audiences a completely new reason to care instead of constantly reminding everyone about the version they almost received.

Sunday in the Park With George premiered on Broadway in 1984 with Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters. Inspired by Georges Seurat’s A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, the musical examines creation and its consequences across two generations. It survived mixed initial reactions, became one of Sondheim’s defining works and has received celebrated revivals on both sides of the Atlantic. One canceled production is not going to touch that legacy.

What disappears, at least for now, is the chance to introduce that work to a massive group of people who might never have considered buying a ticket to a Sondheim musical. There were absolutely Ariana fans and Wicked fans who would have walked into the Barbican because of Grande and Bailey and potentially walked out obsessed with Sunday in the Park With George. That crossover opportunity was real, and losing it is probably the most disappointing part of this entire situation.

Maybe Empire Street Productions finds its George and Dot and tries again in 2028. Maybe Elliott gets the opportunity to rethink the entire production and creates something even more interesting than what was originally announced. There is plenty of time for this story to change again.

For now, though, the Wicked reunion is over, the 2027 Barbican dates are gone, and the future production exists as an intention rather than an actual event.

The painting might still get finished. It is just going to look very different from the one everyone thought they were about to see.

Sources

• Associated Press
• The Guardian
• BroadwayWorld
• London Theatre