Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey are officially reuniting, and this time the setting is not a Wicked soundstage but the West End, where the former co-stars will lead a revival of Sunday in the Park With George, Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Pulitzer Prize–winning musical.
The announcement arrived via a joint Instagram post that was more tease than declaration, showing the pair seated at the Art Institute of Chicago in front of Georges Seurat’s A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, the pointillist painting that inspired the musical.
The composition was precise, referential and, to those fluent in musical theatre, immediately legible.
Deadline eventually confirmed what fans had already clocked. Grande and Bailey are officially starring in a full-scale revival of one of musical theatre’s most revered and demanding works.
For Grande, stepping into the role of Dot marks her first stage performance in nearly two decades and her long-awaited West End debut. It is a full-circle moment that brings her back to the medium where she first fell in love with performing in 13: The Musical, long before pop superstardom reshaped her career and public image.
For Bailey, the production feels like a natural next chapter in an already impressive theatre journey, building on acclaimed turns in The Last Five Years and his Olivier Award–winning performance in the gender-swapped revival of Company.
What Is Sunday in the Park With George About?
At its heart, Sunday in the Park With George is a love story, a creative struggle and an artist’s origin story all in one. First staged in 1984, the musical follows George, a fictionalised version of painter Georges Seurat, as he obsessively works on what will become his masterpiece while slowly pushing away the people who care about him most, especially his lover and muse, Dot, played here by Grande.
The first act centres on their relationship as George becomes increasingly consumed by his art, leaving Dot feeling sidelined and unseen. The second act jumps forward 100 years to follow his great-grandson, also an artist, as he grapples with creative block, self-doubt and the weight of living up to a famous legacy. In other words, it is a story about ambition, love, sacrifice and the emotional cost of chasing greatness.
The original Broadway production starred Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters, with later acclaimed turns by Philip Quast and Maria Friedman at London’s National Theatre. A 2017 Broadway revival led by Jake Gyllenhaal and Annaleigh Ashford was set to transfer to the West End in 2020 before plans were derailed by the pandemic.
This new staging, directed by Tony Award winner Marianne Elliott, will mark the musical’s first major revival since 2017.
When Will Tickets Go On Sale?
The production is expected to premiere at London’s Barbican Theatre in summer 2027, with tickets set to go on sale in May 2026. While the show is still in early development, the sheer pull of Grande and Bailey sharing the stage again has already made it one of the most talked-about theatrical events on the horizon.
Their reunion comes at an interesting and exciting moment for both performers. Grande is leaning into more complex, dramatic screen work, while Bailey continues to cement his place as one of Britain’s most magnetic leading men.
