The 2027 London revival of Sunday in the Park With George will not happen. Producers Empire Street Productions confirmed on Monday that the Barbican production is off the table for good, at least for now, after both its leads walked out within weeks of each other.

"The planned 2027 production of Sunday in the Park with George at the Barbican will no longer proceed as scheduled," the producers said in a statement, adding that they intend to keep the rights and mount the show in 2028 instead. No further details yet on casting or dates for that.

This was supposed to be the theatre event of the year. Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey, fresh off Wicked together, were set to reunite on stage as Dot/Marie and the painter George Seurat, with Marianne Elliott directing. The pairing had ticket buyers and Sondheim diehards equally worked up when it was announced back in January.

Grande went first. She pulled out as part of a wider decision to "step back from visibility" once her Eternal Sunshine tour wrapped, following what Empire Street called public scrutiny over her health. The producers' statement at the time struck a supportive note. "We know this cannot have been an easy decision, and she makes it with our complete understanding and support," they said. The Hollywood Reporter noted her exit reportedly caught some in the production off guard.

Bailey followed earlier this month. In his own statement, he made a point of separating his decision from any distance with Grande. "Ari is one of my dearest friends, and my support for her is steady," he said, also praising Elliott as "extraordinary" and a longtime collaborator. "After much consideration, I have decided to also step back from Sunday in the Park with George."

After Bailey left, Empire Street had signalled the show was being reworked, with casting conversations described as active. Auditions did take place over the summer, and Bailey himself seemed to expect a recast when he said he looked forward to seeing what "the two actors who will now take on these roles" would do with the parts. That recast never materialised.

Ticket sales had already been pushed twice, from May to a later summer 2026 window, before this cancellation put the whole thing on ice. The last time Sunday in the Park With George got a major revival was Broadway in 2017, with Jake Gyllenhaal and Annaleigh Ashford in the leads. A planned transfer of that production to London never crossed the Atlantic because of the pandemic.

So the Sondheim musical's West End moment is on hold again, this time for at least another two years. Whether Elliott stays attached, and who eventually plays George and Dot in 2028, is still anyone's guess.