Musical with Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey canceled for 2027: London production considers return in 2028
The planned London production of the musical Sunday in the Park With George, in which Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey were set to play the leading roles, will not be staged at the Barbican Centre during the summer of 2027. Producer Empire Street Productions confirmed on September 14, 2026, that the project will no longer proceed according to the original schedule, after both announced stars withdrew from the production. The Barbican published the same information on the show's official page and stated that the producer is retaining the rights with the intention of considering a new production in 2028. So far, no new dates, cast or details have been announced regarding whether a possible 2028 version would retain the same creative team. This has halted one of the most highly anticipated London theatre projects for 2027, which was intended to bring together two stars of the Wicked film series in one of Stephen Sondheim's best-known works.
The cancellation for 2027 came after more than a month of uncertainty surrounding the cast. In early August, Grande announced that after completing the Eternal Sunshine tour she intended to step back from some public commitments, and her representative linked the decision to the need for a break from intense and prolonged public exposure. Empire Street Productions then confirmed that she would no longer take part in the musical, but stressed that the show was still expected to open in summer 2027 and that a new actress would be found. In early September, Bailey also withdrew, after which the production continued for a short time to claim that it was working on a new cast and adapting the project. Two weeks later, the final decision arrived to abandon the planned 2027 slot after all.
From major announcement to cancellation in just eight months
The project was officially unveiled on January 14, 2026, when the Barbican announced that Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey would lead a new production of Sunday in the Park With George. Grande was to play Dot and Bailey George, while the production was to be directed by Marianne Elliott, one of Britain's most prominent theatre directors. The set design and visual concept were to be created by Tom Scutt, and from the beginning the producer was Empire Street Productions in collaboration with the Barbican. The official announcement projected performances beginning in summer 2027, drawing major attention because Grande and Bailey would be reunited after working together on the film Wicked. For Grande, the engagement would also have represented an important return to stage theatre in London.
The first serious problem emerged on August 2, when it was confirmed that Grande was withdrawing from the project. According to a statement from her representative carried by U.S. media, the singer and actress decided that after completing the tour she would reduce public appearances and take a break from work requiring a constant media presence. The producers expressed understanding for the decision at the time, but did not abandon the show. At that stage, the plan was to find a new performer for Dot and continue preparations for 2027, meaning that the departure of one star was treated as a major but solvable problem. However, the situation changed significantly when Bailey also withdrew from the project on September 1.
Bailey described the musical in his own statement as a project that was particularly important to him and emphasized his close friendship with Grande and his long-standing professional relationship with Marianne Elliott. He confirmed that, after consideration, he too had decided to withdraw. The production announced the same day that work was continuing, that discussions about a new cast were active and that the creative team was trying to reshape the show around new performers. Such a message suggested an intention to retain the Barbican slot, but only thirteen days later the plan changed. The official announcement of September 14 now clearly states that the 2027 production will not be staged as scheduled, while 2028 is mentioned only as a possibility, not as a confirmed new date.
Why Grande and Bailey were key to the interest surrounding the production
The announced pairing of Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey was one of the main reasons the project immediately attracted international attention. Grande is globally known as a pop performer, but also as an actress with theatre experience, while her role as Glinda in the film adaptation of Wicked further expanded her audience beyond music. Bailey, in addition to the television popularity he gained through Bridgerton, has built a strong theatre career and won an Olivier Award for his role in the revival of the musical Company. Their joint appearance in Sunday in the Park With George was therefore conceived not merely as a star pairing, but also as a meeting of two performers with direct ties to musical theatre. It was precisely that combination that made the announcement especially important to audiences of Sondheim's works and to viewers who discovered them through Wicked.
At the same time, this is a work that relies heavily on the relationship between its two central characters. According to Music Theatre International's description, the first act follows French painter Georges Seurat as he works on the painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte while simultaneously trying to maintain his relationship with Dot. The second act moves the story a century forward and examines an artist's legacy, creative doubt and the pressures of the art world. Precisely because of this dramatic structure, the chemistry and acting balance between the lead performers carry considerable weight. The departure of both Grande and Bailey therefore meant that the producers did not merely need to replace two famous stars, but had to rediscover the central acting dynamic on which much of the show depends.
Sondheim musical inspired by Seurat won the Pulitzer Prize
Sunday in the Park With George features music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Lapine, and was first performed on Broadway in 1984. The work was inspired by Seurat's monumental painting from the 1880s, today one of the most recognizable examples of Neo-Impressionism and Pointillism. Instead of a conventional biographical story about the painter, Sondheim and Lapine created a fictionalized meditation on the cost of creation, the relationship between artist and audience, and the conflict between dedication to work and private life. The Pulitzer committee awarded the musical the 1985 Prize for Drama, making it part of the very small group of musicals to have received that distinction. The official Pulitzer Prize website lists Sondheim and Lapine as the winners for Sunday in the Park With George, while the institution's historical overview emphasizes that at the time of its creation the work was formally ambitious and unusually serious for commercial Broadway.
The original Broadway production was nominated for ten Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and starred Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters in the leading roles. Although the initial critical reception was mixed, the show gradually acquired the status of one of Sondheim's key works. At the center of the story is not only Seurat as a historical figure, but also the question of what an artist must sacrifice in order to complete work that others may not immediately understand. It is precisely this theme that has enabled numerous new interpretations over the decades, from major commercial revivals to more intimate productions. For that reason, the new London version led by Elliott carried weight even before the famous cast was announced.
London already has an important history with this work
London's theatre scene already had a notable connection with Sunday in the Park With George. The Menier Chocolate Factory production opened in late 2005, after which its success led to a transfer to Wyndham's Theatre in the West End in 2006. According to Broadway League data on the later U.S. transfer, that version won five Olivier Awards, including the prize for Outstanding Musical Production. Daniel Evans and Jenna Russell played the leading roles in London, while Sam Buntrock directed. The success of that production demonstrated that Sondheim's demanding work could find a broad audience outside New York, which is why the announcement of a new major London production almost two decades later attracted additional attention.
The new version was intended to have a different creative identity. Marianne Elliott has a string of major British and international productions behind her, including the acclaimed revival of Sondheim's Company, while Tom Scutt ranks among Britain's leading set designers. The Barbican's official January announcement specifically named Elliott and Scutt as key members of the creative team, but following the decision to cancel the 2027 production it has not been confirmed whether both will remain attached to a possible 2028 version. This is one of the most important unresolved questions, alongside the new cast and schedule. While the producer retains the rights, the wording regarding 2028 leaves room for the project to continue, but does not guarantee that it will be identical to the previously announced production.
What comes next for the Barbican and a possible 2028 version
The Barbican's official message remains brief for now: the 2027 production will not take place as planned, Empire Street Productions retains the rights, and further information will be announced later. This means the project cannot be considered permanently abandoned, but at present there is no confirmed replacement season. It has also not been announced whether a completely new cast would be sought for 2028 or whether the creative concept might also change. Since the producers were still publicly working on new casting in early September after Bailey's decision, it is clear that, at least for a short time, there was an intention to save the 2027 production with different performers. The decision made in mid-September shows that it was ultimately judged that such a restructuring was not feasible within the original timeframe.
For audiences who have followed the project since its first announcement, the most important distinction is between the cancellation of a scheduled run and the complete abandonment of the production. The Barbican and Empire Street Productions have not announced that Sunday in the Park With George is being abandoned forever, but rather that the version planned for summer 2027 will no longer be staged. If the project does indeed return in 2028, it will almost certainly require a new announcement campaign, confirmation of a theatre slot, a cast and ticket-sale information. All of that has yet to be announced. Until then, the only firm fact remains that Grande and Bailey are no longer part of the production and that their joint appearance at the Barbican in 2027 will not happen.
The cancellation thus interrupted a project that at the beginning of 2026 appeared to be one of the certain major events of London's theatre season the following year. For Sondheim's work, however, this does not necessarily have to be the final chapter in London: the producer has explicitly retained the rights and publicly left open the possibility of 2028. Whether that intention will turn into a new production will depend on a number of decisions that are still unknown, above all the cast, creative team and availability of a suitable slot. The Barbican has so far announced nothing that would make 2028 a confirmed date, so it is most accurate to speak of a plan under consideration. After eight months in which the project went from a star-studded announcement to the loss of both leading stars and cancellation, the show's future remains open.
Sources:
- Barbican Centre - official notice that the 2027 production will not be staged as planned and that Empire Street Productions is considering 2028 (link)
- Barbican Centre - original announcement of the production, lead performers, director Marianne Elliott and set designer Tom Scutt from January 2026 (link)
- The Stage - chronology of Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey's withdrawals and confirmation that the 2027 slot was abandoned (link)
- Good Morning America - Jonathan Bailey's statement about withdrawing from the production and his relationship with the project (link)
- The Washington Post - confirmation of Ariana Grande's decision to step back from public commitments after the tour and leave the musical (link)
- The Pulitzer Prizes - official information about the Pulitzer Prize for Drama awarded to the musical in 1985 and the historical context of the work (link)
- Music Theatre International - official description of the work, authors, story structure and information about the original Broadway version (link)
- The Broadway League - information about the 2005/2006 London production and its five Olivier Awards (link)
- Official London Theatre - official information about the Olivier Award Jonathan Bailey won for Company in 2019 (link)
- Art Institute of Chicago - historical and artistic context of Seurat's painting A Sunday on La Grande Jatte—1884 and its connection with Neo-Impressionism (link)