Picture: Helen Murray
The team behind next year’s eagerly awaited new production of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Pulitzer-winning musical Sunday in the Park With George is on the search for a new leading lady after Grammy Award winner Ariana Grande has withdrawn from the production.
Grande had been due to make her West End stage debut opposite her Wicked co-star, Olivier Award winner Jonathan Bailey (Company, Gielgud Theatre, American Psycho, Almeida Theatre) in the production which will premiere at the Barbican next summer.
Currently in the middle of her The Eternal Sunshine Tour, Grande is reportedly planning to take a break from public life when the tour ends. The announcement follows months of scrutiny focusing on concerns about the singer’s health.
A statement posted on X by Empire Street Productions read: “Following this evening’s announcement from Ariana Grande’s team, we can confirm that she has decided to step back from Sunday in the Park With George.
“We know this cannot have been an easy decision, and she makes it with our complete understanding and support. We wish her nothing but the best.
“The production will open at the Barbican in summer 2027 as planned, and casting will be announced in due course.”
Produced by Empire Street Productions and presented in association with the Barbican, the high-profile production reunites Bailey with multi-award-winning director Marianne Elliot. The production will be designed by designer and director Tom Scutt.
Sondheim and Lapine’s acclaimed work puts the spotlight on artist Georges Seurat in the months leading up to the completion of his most famous painting – A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. Consumed by his need to ‘finish the hat’, Seurat alienates the French bourgeoisie, spurns his fellow artists, and neglects his lover Dot, unaware that his actions will reverberate for the next 100 years.
The musical made its debut on Broadway in 1984, winning the 1985 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, two Tony Awards for design (and a nomination for Best Musical), numerous Drama Desk Awards, the 1991 Olivier Award for Best Musical, and the 2007 Olivier Award for Outstanding Musical Production.
Sondheim and Lapine’s musical has been revived a number of times, including the 2005/06 UK production which was first presented at the Menier Chocolate Factory, and its subsequent 2008 Broadway transfer. The acclaimed 2017 Broadway revival starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Annaleigh Ashford had been due to transfer to London’s Savoy Theatre before the pandemic hit.
Angela Thomas
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