The highly anticipated 2027 production of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s musical Sunday in the Park with George at the Barbican has been officially cancelled for its planned window, following the departures of star attractions Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey, though producers Empire Street Productions intend to target a 2028 staging.
Art isn’t easy, and neither is scheduling musical theatre legends. Empire Street Productions confirmed that the planned London run will no longer proceed on its original timeline after losing high-profile headliners Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey. Despite the setback, the production team retains the underlying rights and is eyeing a rescheduled 2028 window for the ambitious mounting.
The Bottom Line
- The Delay: The 2027 Barbican production of Sunday in the Park with George has been called off, with producers aiming for a 2028 debut instead.
- The Creative Cast Shift: The setback follows the high-profile departures of attached stars Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey.
- Rights Status: Empire Street Productions retains the theatrical rights to stage the Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine classic at a later date.
A History of West End Roadblocks for Sondheim’s Masterpiece
For fans of musical theatre, this latest scheduling hurdle feels like déjà vu. The landmark Pulitzer Prize-winning musical, which is loosely based on the life of French painter Georges Seurat and his famous large-scale work A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, has not seen a major London production in nearly two decades. A West End production was previously slated for 2020, only to be entirely scrapped due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns.
Director Marianne Elliott, whose previous Sondheim mounting of Company became an acclaimed critical and commercial darling on both sides of the Atlantic, was attached to helm the project. Meanwhile, award-winning designer Tom Scutt—who recently garnered widespread praise for his work on another Sondheim classic, Into the Woods—was set to handle the visual architecture of the production.
Creative Calendars and West End Logistics
The collision of elite creative schedules in London theatre often results in high-stakes chess matches. Both Elliott and Scutt maintain exceptionally demanding slates. Scutt’s celebrated work on Into the Woods is slated for the Noël Coward Theatre in the West End, while Elliott is currently directing a fresh mounting of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? starring Gillian Anderson and Billy Crudup. Furthermore, Elliott is scheduled to co-direct West Side Story at the National Theatre next year.
When star power like Grande and Bailey exit a production of this magnitude, the financial and logistical dominoes fall fast. Retaining the rights, however, signals that the team views this as a postponement rather than a permanent shelving.
Production Timeline and Creative Roster Comparison
| Production Milestone | Original Plan | Updated Status (2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Target Venue | The Barbican, London | The Barbican, London (Delayed) |
| Scheduled Window | 2027 Production Run | Postponed; eyeing 2028 |
| Key Creative Leadership | Director Marianne Elliott, Designer Tom Scutt | Retained by Empire Street Productions |
| Attached Talent | Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey | Departed from the revival |
What Lies Ahead for the Barbican Revival
Here is the kicker: mounting large-scale Sondheim in the UK requires a delicate alignment of venue availability, box-office anchors, and visionary staging. The Barbican demands massive institutional heft, and a production missing its marquee names risks losing the commercial momentum required for a limited run.
Do you think the production can recapture its initial lightning-in-a-bottle momentum for 2028, or should they pivot to a completely new cast? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.
