What was shaping up to be one of the most anticipated West End castings of the decade has fallen apart entirely. Jonathan Bailey has withdrawn from the Barbican’s 2027 revival of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Sunday in the Park with George, roughly a month after his former “Wicked” co-star Ariana Grande announced she was stepping back from the production herself. The two had been set to reunite on stage for the first time since starring together as Fiyero and Glinda in the two-part “Wicked” film franchise, with Bailey playing painter Georges Seurat and Grande taking on the dual role of Dot and Marie.

What Happened

News of Bailey’s exit broke on September 1, 2026, just hours before Grande took the stage at London’s O2 Arena for the final performance of her Eternal Sunshine Tour. Bailey shared the announcement himself, posting a statement to his Instagram Stories rather than issuing it through the production’s official channels first. Producers followed shortly after, confirming the news on the show’s own social media account and stating that the creative team is now “reshaping” the production around a new company.

The timing was widely read as an act of solidarity. Bailey and Grande have remained close since filming the “Wicked” films together, and multiple outlets, including Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter, reported that Bailey’s decision followed directly from Grande’s own departure a month earlier, rather than from any unrelated scheduling or creative conflict.

Jonathan Bailey’s Statement

In his statement, Bailey described Grande as one of his closest friends and said his support for her was unwavering. He also praised director Marianne Elliott, calling her one of his longest-standing collaborators, referencing their previous work together on the acclaimed 2018 West End revival of Sondheim’s “Company.” Bailey said the decision to step back had come after considerable thought, and that the show had been a genuine passion project for him.

Bailey went on to reflect on the central relationship at the heart of the musical, describing the bond between George and Dot as devoted and beautifully drawn, and said he was looking forward to seeing what the two performers who eventually take over the roles bring to the material. He closed by wishing the company well and said he would be cheering on the production as it moves forward without him.

Why Ariana Grande Stepped Back

Grande’s own departure was announced roughly a month earlier, in early August, through a representative’s statement to People magazine. The statement explained that Grande would be taking a step back from public-facing work once her Eternal Sunshine Tour concluded, citing what it described as ongoing public scrutiny. It also noted she wanted to end the tour on a healthy, positive note before taking what was described as a much-deserved break.

The announcement followed weeks of intense online commentary about Grande’s appearance, much of it triggered by the release of the music video for her single “Petal.” Empire Street Productions, the show’s producing company, confirmed Grande’s exit the same evening, saying in a statement that the decision could not have been easy and that the production fully understood and supported her choice. Crucially, the producers stated at the time that the show would still open at the Barbican in summer 2027 as planned, with casting for Grande’s role to be announced later — a plan that held for about a month before Bailey’s own exit reshaped things further.

The Producers’ Response

Following Bailey’s announcement, Empire Street Productions confirmed the news on the production’s official Instagram account, framing it as a direct consequence of Grande’s earlier withdrawal. The statement said casting discussions were already actively underway, and described the creative team as working to reshape the production around an entirely new company while preserving what it called the ambition and artistic integrity of Sondheim and Lapine’s musical. Further casting and production details, the statement said, would be announced in due course.

Details compiled from official Barbican and production statements as of early September 2026.

About Sunday in the Park with George

Sunday in the Park with George is one of the most acclaimed works in the Stephen Sondheim canon, with music and lyrics by Sondheim and a book by James Lapine, who also directed the original 1984 Broadway production at the Booth Theatre. The musical won the 1985 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, one of the few musicals ever to receive the honor, and picked up two Tony Awards for its design work at that year’s ceremony.

The show takes its inspiration directly from Georges Seurat’s pointillist masterpiece “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.” Its first act imagines the fictionalized process behind the painting’s creation between 1884 and 1886, following Seurat as he becomes so consumed by finishing the work that he alienates the people around him, including his devoted lover and muse, Dot. The second act leaps forward a century to follow a modern-day artist, George’s fictional great-grandson, as he grapples with his own artistic legacy and rediscovers the emotional truths buried in his ancestor’s life and work.

The original Broadway production starred Mandy Patinkin as George and Bernadette Peters as Dot and Marie, performances now considered definitive by many Sondheim devotees. The show has been revived multiple times since, including a Tony-winning 2017 concert staging at New York’s Hudson Theatre led by Jake Gyllenhaal and Annaleigh Ashford, following its run as part of New York City Center’s Encores! series.

Who Is Jonathan Bailey?

Jonathan Bailey, 38, has become one of Britain’s most in-demand actors over the past decade, moving fluidly between television, film, and stage work. He is best known internationally for playing Anthony Bridgerton in Netflix’s “Bridgerton” and for his role as the winged monkey prince Fiyero in the two-part “Wicked” film adaptation, opposite Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. He has also appeared in “Jurassic World Rebirth” and a range of British television and theatre work.

Bailey’s stage résumé is considerably deeper than his screen career might suggest to casual fans. He starred as Bobbie in Marianne Elliott’s gender-swapped 2018 West End revival of Sondheim’s “Company,” a production that later transferred to Broadway and won multiple Tony Awards, and his history with Sondheim’s work made him a natural fit for “Sunday in the Park with George” when the Barbican production was first announced. That existing relationship with Elliott is also almost certainly why his statement singled her out for such warm praise even as he withdrew from her production.

Who Is Ariana Grande?

Ariana Grande, 33, is a Grammy-winning singer and actress whose career spans multiple platinum-selling albums, a long-running Nickelodeon television career, and, more recently, a significant pivot into film with her Oscar-nominated performance as Glinda in “Wicked” and its sequel “Wicked: For Good.” Sunday in the Park with George would have marked her stage musical debut in London and her first major live theatrical role since her early career, when she originated a part in the Broadway musical “13” as a teenager.

Grande’s decision to step back followed a period of sustained public commentary about her appearance that intensified sharply after the release of the music video for her single “Petal.” Her representative’s statement to People magazine framed the decision as being about wellbeing and boundary-setting rather than any specific health disclosure, and Grande herself has spoken in the past about the pressures of long-term public scrutiny over her body, including remarks made during her ongoing tour about the decision being a considered, long-planned one rather than a sudden reaction.

The Scale of What’s Been Lost — and What Remains

It’s worth being clear about just how significant a casting coup the original announcement represented. Pairing two actors fresh off one of the highest-grossing film franchises of the decade, in their stage musical debuts together, at a major London venue directing by an A-list Sondheim specialist, was always going to generate outsized attention regardless of the production’s other merits. That combination is almost certainly why the show became a talking point well beyond typical West End theatre coverage, drawing entertainment press attention more commonly reserved for film releases or arena tours.

What remains, though, is still considerable. Empire Street Productions has kept Marianne Elliott and Tom Scutt attached throughout both departures, meaning the creative backbone of the production, arguably the harder element to replace on short notice, is intact. The Barbican itself remains committed to the summer 2027 engagement, and nothing in either producers’ statement suggests any reconsideration of scale, run length, or venue. For a production this closely watched, that continuity matters: a full creative reset, on top of losing both leads, would have raised far more serious questions about whether the show could proceed on its original timeline at all.

About Empire Street Productions

Empire Street Productions, the company behind the revival, has built a reputation for ambitious, star-driven West End revivals produced in close partnership with major London venues. Their handling of this particular crisis, two lead departures within a single month, has generally been read by industry commentators as measured rather than reactive: both statements emphasized understanding and support for the departing stars over any suggestion of frustration, and both reaffirmed the production’s timeline immediately rather than leaving audiences and press to speculate about a delay or cancellation.

That approach matters commercially as well as reputationally. A West End production of this scale represents a substantial financial commitment made well in advance of opening night, and maintaining public confidence in the show’s viability, even through a genuinely unusual double-departure scenario, protects future ticket demand regardless of who ultimately takes on the roles. Producers’ continued insistence that casting discussions are “actively under way” suggests they are moving quickly to fill both parts rather than waiting for the dust to settle.

Who Might Replace Them?

No replacement casting has been confirmed for either role, and neither Empire Street Productions nor the Barbican has floated names publicly. Given the production’s pedigree and the West End’s recent track record of attracting major screen names to prestige stage revivals, industry speculation is likely to focus on performers with both significant name recognition and genuine musical theatre credentials, given how vocally and dramatically demanding both George and Dot are to perform eight times a week.

Whoever eventually takes over will inherit a production that was already generating outsized attention before a single ticket went on sale, for better and worse — an enviable marketing position for two new leads to step into, but also a role now shadowed by a widely publicized casting saga before rehearsals have even begun. How Empire Street Productions manages that dynamic in its next announcement will likely shape public perception of the production almost as much as the eventual performances themselves.

Sunday in the Park with George in London

London audiences first saw the musical in 1990, when the National Theatre staged a production directed by Steven Pimlott, starring Philip Quast as George and Maria Friedman as Dot and Marie — performances that remain touchstones for the show’s London history. The musical returned in 2005 in an acclaimed staging at the Menier Chocolate Factory, directed by Sam Buntrock and starring Daniel Evans and Jenna Russell, which transferred to the West End’s Wyndham’s Theatre the following year and went on to a Broadway transfer of its own.

The Barbican’s upcoming revival, first announced in January 2026, was positioned as the musical’s most high-profile return to a major London stage since that Menier production two decades earlier — a milestone made even more newsworthy by the casting of two major screen stars fresh off one of the biggest film franchises of the decade. Marianne Elliott, the production’s director, brings an extensive Sondheim pedigree of her own, along with acclaimed stagings of “War Horse,” “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,” “Angels in America,” and a Tony-nominated Broadway revival of “Company” that also starred Bailey in London.

A Production Delayed Before It Even Opened

Even before this week’s news, the Barbican revival had already seen its timeline shift more than once. Tickets were originally expected to go on sale in May 2026, but producers pushed that date back to autumn 2026, explicitly to allow Grande time to complete her Eternal Sunshine Tour before the on-sale period began. That delay meant the production had not yet opened public booking at the time either star announced their departure, sparing audiences the more complicated scenario of needing to refund or reassign tickets already sold under the original casting.

The show’s official website and ticketing partners, including the Barbican’s own box office, have continued to describe the summer 2027 opening date as unchanged throughout both departures, with all parties consistently emphasizing that the production itself remains on track even as its leading duo has fallen away entirely.

What’s Next for the Production

With both previously announced leads now out, the Barbican revival faces a genuine casting reset less than a year before its planned opening. Producers have given no indication of a shortened timeline or reduced ambitions for the production, and Marianne Elliott and designer Tom Scutt remain attached, which suggests the creative vision for the staging itself is unlikely to change dramatically even as its cast is rebuilt from scratch.

Industry observers have noted that a production of this scale, backed by Empire Street Productions and closely tied to the high-profile Barbican venue, is unlikely to struggle for star interest even without its original marquee names attached. Sondheim revivals with major screen talent attached have become a reliable draw in the West End in recent years, and casting directors will likely be fielding significant interest as soon as the search for new leads becomes public.

Fan and Industry Reaction

Reaction across entertainment and theatre press has largely framed Bailey’s exit as an act of loyalty rather than a sign of trouble for the production itself. Commentary from outlets covering the story consistently noted the closeness between Bailey and Grande dating back to their years filming the “Wicked” movies together, and several pieces highlighted his specific praise for Elliott as evidence he still holds the project itself in high regard, even as he steps away from performing in it.

Among theatre fans, reaction has been a mixture of disappointment at losing the high-profile reunion and support for both stars’ decisions, with many commentators expressing hope that Bailey and Grande might eventually reunite on stage together at a later date, whether in this production’s afterlife or an entirely new project once circumstances allow. For now, all eyes turn to Empire Street Productions and the Barbican for news of who will step into two of musical theatre’s most demanding and beloved roles.

Reporting compiled from Variety, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, LADbible, Yahoo News UK, the official Barbican website, LOVEtheatre, SeatPlan, West End Theatre, Time Out London, People, NBC News, and ABC News. All quotes and statements are sourced from publicly reported material as of September 2, 2026.