London Musical Cancelled After Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey Pull Out
BBC News
The upcoming London revival of Sunday In The Park With George has been cancelled after A-listers Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey dropped out.
The Wicked stars had been due to reunite on stage in the Stephen Sondheim show at the Barbican next year. Last month, Grande announced she was pulling out of the musical as part of her decision to take a break from the spotlight after completing her Eternal Sunshine Tour. Earlier this month, Bailey also revealed he was withdrawing from the show.
Production company Empire Street Productions initially said it would continue as planned but on Monday announced the musical would no longer be staged in 2027.
"The planned 2027 production of Sunday in the Park with George at the Barbican will no longer proceed as scheduled," a statement from the company read. "Empire Street Productions will retain the rights with a view to presenting the production in 2028. Further details will be announced in due course."
US composer Sondheim and playwright James Lapine created the original musical, which debuted on Broadway in 1984. Sunday in the Park with George was inspired by French painter Georges Seurat's A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, in which a fictional version of the artist is consumed by his work.
Grande and Bailey played Glinda and Fiyero in the film adaptation of Wicked and its sequel, Wicked: For Good.
The singer and actress had voiced her need for a break from public scrutiny following her recent tour. "The announcement that was made yesterday was not a reactive or impulsive thing," she said. "It is something that I had decided to plan... quietly, a long time ago."
When Bailey pulled out of Sunday in the Park with George at the beginning of September, he voiced support for its director Marianne Elliott, stating: "I so look forward to seeing what the team, and the two actors who will now take on these roles, will create with it."