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Micky Jo (Theatre Critic and Content Creator)
So there's this rumor going around in the theatre community that Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey, who of course starred together on screen in Wicked and Wicked for Good, may be joining each other on stage in a brand new revival of the Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine musical Sunday in the park with George. Is it true? Well, you might want to start getting excited and also getting ready for the battle that's going to be trying to get tickets. Oh my God. Hey, welcome back to my theatre themed YouTube channel. Or hello to those of you listening to this theatre news recap on podcast platform. My name is Mickey Jo and I'm obsessed with all things theatre. I am a theatre critic and content creator here on social media and I shan't lie to you. I am meant to be winding down for something of a festive break. I still have a bunch of reviews from the last couple of weeks to share with you all, which will be coming out between now and the end of the year. I have a lot of editing to do. I still have a few more days of seeing shows before that gets paused, and the last thing that I should be doing right now is engaging with rumors from the theater world. But this is so juicy a rumor that it's been picked up just about everybody else. And even though this has yet to be officially substantiated or confirmed, there is reason to believe that there is some considerable truth to the suggestion that Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey will join each other in a new revival of Sunday in the park with George. Now we're going to read through what has been reported so far, principally in Deadline. We're also going to talk through everything that I have heard about this production, what we might be able to expect, how we got here, why people are wanting this to happen, where these rumors came from in the first place, and crucially, whether or not I think this show and these roles are actually a good fit for these two performers. Of course, these will only be my insights and opinions, and I would love to hear yours, as always, in the comments section down below. Would you be excited to go and see Jonathan Bailey and Ariana Grande do Sunday in the park with George? Or is there any kind of a role you would prefer to see each of them do on stage? I have a lot of thoughts about that particular notion, but we're going to get to a little bit later on. For now, let's talk about where this rumor even came from and what we know so far. As I share that with you. If you enjoy listening to this and want to stay up to date with all of the latest Broadway and West End theatre news, then don't hesitate to subscribe right here on YouTube or go follow me on podcast platforms. For now, is it going to be Sunday in the park with Jonathan and Ariana? Let's discuss. So first of all, where did this rumor even come from? Well, since Wicked happened and you know, when any kind of like musical theatre happens in the mainstream and on screen, the first thing people say is like, oh, are you going to do Broadway now? Are they going to go and do Broadway? Ariana Grande made her Broadway debut several years ago and has not done stage work in the years since. Jonathan Bailey is on stage all the time and spent many of the early years of his career doing Theatre work. I saw him in American Psycho in the original London production of that show, which is about to come back, curiously enough, as well as his later acclaimed work in revivals of Company, for which he won the Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actor in a musical. He was also in a revival of the play Cock. And post the release of the first Wicked movie, he did Edward II at the Bridge. The latter two being productions that I reviewed here on social media. You can go and check out what I had to say about each of those. And so it's sort of a foregone conclusion that Jonathan Bailey would make his way back to the stage at some point, when he's done being one of the most lucrative film stars of 2025, as well as the sexiest man alive, it has been reported. And listen, who am I to disagree with statistics? The stage return of their other Wicked co star, Cynthia Erivo, has also already been announced. In fact, I believe she has recently started rehearsals for Dracula in the West End solo theatrical adaptation of the Bram Stoker novel, which has previously been seen in Australia, devised and directed by Kip Williams, who also brought the picture of Dorian Gray to the stage with Sarah Snook. But with Ariana, she's always been one of those pop stars who people thought might do Broadway again one day, like Lady Gaga. There is constantly conversation about, is Gaga gonna do this? Is Gaga gonna do A Funny Girl? Is Gaga gonna do Evita? And, you know, between the touring schedules, putting out new music and taking on more lucrative Hollywood projects, it seems like it's never really going to happen unless the perfect opportunity arises. Only Ariana has signalled that she had so much fun doing Wicked on screen that it made her want to make a little bit more space in her own calendar to do theatre work, which, make no mistake, would represent a little bit of a loss of income for her, but it's her pursuing what she wants to do as an artist. In short, she would make more money just touring and putting out more records and doing more movie roles, because I can't imagine there's a shortage of people now courting her for screen appearances. But what she really wants to do, it seems, is musical theatre. And I would like to see her on stage. And so when the first Wicked movie happened, there was some conversation around this, but the answer to most of these questions inevitably was like, yes, I'd love to at some point. Let's get back to talking about Wicked. There's another movie that's coming out and that was kind of the focus of the whole Press tour. The second time around, it's a concluding press tour and by this point Wicked is done. Their obligations with it are about to be over, they're looking to the future. And conversations started to turn to other musical theatre roles and projects especially. Jonathan Bailey was asked this question a few times and there arose a little bit of talk around the possibility of him playing the Phantom in the Phantom of the Opera, either on stage or on screen alongside Rachel Zegler was what was being talked about at one point. I think Sir Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber may also have engaged with those rumors and said he thought Jonathan Bailey would be fantastic. Which in spite of my fondness for him, Jonathan, that is not. Andrew is not something that I necessarily co sign and I'm sure it's a very intriguing role to play. Certainly it would be casting very much against type for the charming and handsome Jonathan Bailey. But principally, I think the main focus of the casting, especially after the last time that show was brought to the screen with a feature film adaptation starring Gerard Butler, needs to be an actor who can meet the entire vocal demands of the score. And Jonathan Bailey has a great and capable singing voice. He does not have quite that kind of timbre, tone or range required for singing a part like the Phantom of the Opera. He'd be a terrific Rowl. And that's not meant to be in any way dismissive or insulting, but there is a discernible difference between, like it's up that I fell and let your soul take you where you long to be. Like they're different places. Anyway, with Cynthia's next stage project already spoken for, and make no mistake, if it does well enough in London, and if she wants it to, it feels like there's a very real possibility that the show may head to Broadway like the picture of Dorian Gray before it, conversation turned to Ariana and Jonathan and the possibility of them doing something on stage together, which is what brought us to the Sunday in the park with George of it all. And oh gosh, the rumors about this show. There was meant to be a London transfer of the Broadway production starring Annaleigh Ashford and Jake gyllenhaal back in 2020. We all know what happened in 2020. I had multiple pairs of tickets to see that show, including on my Birthday from the front row. Still quite devastated about that one. But then cut to a few years later. People were saying, no, no, no, it is, it is going to happen now. The schedules have aligned, it is going to come over for the summer, it's going to do a little run and then Nothing came of that. And then there was talk of like, no, no, no, it is, it is now, but now it's going to be like Andrew Garfield. And I can't remember if it was like Florence Pugh or someone was meant to be attached alongside him. But Andrew Garfield was talked about for quite a long time. For a strange five minutes, people thought Ben Platt was going to come and do it over here. That could have been conflated with rumors about Parade transferring during strike. In any case, none of these ended up happening. And it may surprise you, if you know me to be the Sondheim enthusiast that I am, when I tell you I have never seen Sunday in the park with George live on stage, because I have scarcely had the opportunity to. There has not been a major UK production of Sunday in the park with George for, gosh, easily upwards of a decade, close to two. And I would really love the chance to rectify that. And so I'm hoping that the Jonathan Bailey Ariana Grande rumour is true, and I believe that it is at this stage. Stage. That doesn't mean it won't necessarily fall apart before it can come to fruition. That being said, and before we talk about whether or not they're even right for these roles, let's talk about what has actually been said so far.
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Are in the press. So the prolific entertainment journalist Baz Bamigboy, who I have told you on more than one occasion before, likes a scoop even more than a child at an ice cream van, has reported this for Deadline. Breaking Bad Wicked stars Ariana Groh Grande and Jonathan Bailey I re team for Sunday in the park with George at London's Barbican in 2027. And the Barbican is the venue that has been talked about in all of these rumors going back to like the Andrew Garfield conversation, which is not really that surprising because over its Summer runs. It does tend to be the home of these often star led musical revivals and often a lot of shows that kind of emerge at the last minute. We didn't know that Kiss Me Kate with Stephanie J Block was happening until it got announced. Basically we didn't know that Anything Goes was remounted and brought over here with certain Foster until I think the night before the announcement. But Baz has shared exclusively, at least initially. It was before everyone else hopped on it that Ariana and Jonathan are in early planning stages. Listen to that. To reunite in a revival of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Pulitzer Prize winning musical. There aren't that many of those. Sunday in the park with George to be directed by multiple Tony Award and Olivier Award recipient Marianne Elliott in London in 2027. None of which is a surprise whatsoever. If Jonathan was gonna do musical theatre again, it was gonna be Sondheim and it was going to be Marianne Elliott directing. Marianne has directed two of Jonathan Bailey's most recent stage projects. She directed Cock in the West End at the Ambassadors as well as the company revival at the Gielgud. And I think she may even have approached him about doing it. I can't remember. As the story goes, I remember that she pitched it to Rosalie Craig, who starred in that production, Flipped Bobby. She explained the idea and said that she wanted Rosalie to do it while they were on an underground train, I think, and then like got off the train or something. Knowing the way that Marianne Elliott operates, I feel like there was something about her specifically approaching Jonathan Bailey to play a similarly gender flipped version of the character who was originally Amy, who became Jamie and sang the iconic song Getting Married Today. Or not, as the pattern may be, but after they worked together the second time and on a play, that lovely anecdote about Marianne Elliot telling Stephen Sondheim, I believe in the months before his death that Jonathan was going to do that play and that role and this bringing a lot of joy to Sondheim, who like the rest of the known universe, have become very enamored with Jonathan Bailey after he starred in Company. At that point, I think it becomes obvious that the two of them enjoy working together. That Marianne sees a lot of roles for Jonathan because already very different parts, those two. And that this is a director that Jonathan Bailey is keen to collaborate with ongoingly. So if he's gonna do a big musical theatre role, the biggest he has ever done on stage or on screen, you know, George and Sunday in the park with George. This is a lofty hefty leading role. It's gonna be with Marianne Elliott. That's not a surprise. And also, if we're gonna get finally a major revival of Sunday in the park with George, we need a visionary director like Marianne Elliott to deliver something compellingly exciting, which I have every faith that she will will. But it isn't all confirmed just yet. As Baz goes on to say, there are many moving parts, some bigger than others involved at this delicate juncture more than 18 months ahead of a potential summer opening at London's Barbican Theatre. Unsurprisingly, it would be that summer revival slot. It could potentially be a very large production in terms of the scale of the design and the size of the orchestra, because it's a large playing space at the Barbican. Understandably. He says there will be no official announcement until all of those parts are firmly locked into place. But he's reliably informed that all involved are understood to be cautiously optimistic that the show will go on with Grande and Bayley in 2027. If I was a betting man, I would say that this probably is going to happen with Jonathan Bailey and that the desire at this time for all involved, including from her, is that Ariana Grande will star alongside him. But if something's going to fall out of place between now and then, that's the thing that's going to go. That's the detail that might shift and it could be a different star as Dot, a different leading lady. After all, 18 months is a long time. And it was Baz who first announced to the world that Ariana DeBose was in talks to star in Evita at the London Palladium. This, I think, was only about six months before the show was set to begin rehearsals. And that similarly, you know, very possibly was the plan, but also didn't end up coming to fruition. We have some paragraphs then here about the inspiration for the show. The painting A Sunday Afternoo on the island of La Grande Jatte, a pointless painting which I have had the joy of seeing earlier this year in Chicago, as well as some discussion of the characters within the show that the two Wicked stars would be playing the originators of those roles. Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters at the Booth Theatre on Broadway. Philip Quest and Maria Friedman at the National Theatre in London. Oh, this is exciting. At early read throughs I've heard that both Grande and Bailey have excelled in the parts. They're joined at the hip as friends, having now worked together for the past few years on Wicked and This year's terrific Wicked for Good with director John M. Chu and Cynthia Erivo. There has been blather on social media about this version of Sunday in the park with George, and Grande has hinted that she's hoping to return to the boards, but I hope my reporting gives you a sense of what's going on behind the scenes. As for Bailey, the show would reunite him with Elliot. This then talks through much of what I have said to you already. Oh, and then some more on Marianne Elliot here. Well ahead of Company, Elliot visited with Sondheim in NYC and later the famed composer and lyricist traveled to London for company rehearsals. During that time, the pair had a series of ongoing conversations about what else in the Sondheim canon she was interested in directing. Sunday in the park with George was one of those that was discussed. Apparently. Baz claims then that he understands west side Story was the other. Perhaps destined for the National Theatre in 2027-2028. And from what I heard a couple of years ago, there was actually a bidding war over the rights to a West side Story revival in London, with various producing theatres like Regent's Park, Open Air Theatre and commercial producers getting involved. So I have been waiting actually to find the winner of that was and where this west side Story revival was going to pop up. If it is Marianne Elliot at the National Theatre, that wouldn't be surprising either. And the article concludes with some more about Marianne Elliot's work and Stephen Sondheim's. But it's exciting enough at this point that this is a thing that has got as far as having read throughs that early read throughs have happened. That's an incredibly exciting concept and there's relatively little from a theatre industry standpoint that could really get in the way of this, because when it comes to commercial producing in the West End, then it becomes about theatre availability and like what's closing early and what's doing unexpectedly well and things can shift and things can change and creatives can fall out of favor with producers, all of those things. But when you have a heavyweight like Marianne Elliot, whose claims to fame as a director include not only that Company revival on either side of the Atlantic, but also Warhorse, the original stage production of Warhorse and the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime like a big deal, as well as stars with enough calibre and legitimate musical theater chops to get this instantly green lit and a theater that always seems to have summer availability because a lot of their shows seem to be booked in at the last minute, like the Barbican there's nothing that's really going to get in the way of this happening unless somebody pulls out and that causes the entire project to collapse. And it would still sell very, very well, I think, with Jonathan Bailey. You know, Richard II at the Bridge didn't entirely sell out, but I the excitement around his casting may have been bounced a little bit by a lack of enthusiasm to see Shakespeare, or certainly that particular Shakespeare, which ushers me towards a conversation about whether I think these two are right for these roles in Sunday in the park with George.
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Micky Jo (Theatre Critic and Content Creator)
So like I've said, I would just be super enthusiastic to get to see any production at this stage. I have faith that Marianne Elliott would deliver something exciting and fresh with the material. I would like to see her interpretation of it. And I can see a version of Sunday in the park with George led by Jonathan Bailey and Ariana Grande. Their chemistry is a really persuasive notion for casting the two of them alongside each other in this production. There are other realities about these roles that give me a little bit more pause, and certainly the versions of the characters who they would play would not necessarily feel quintessential, would not necessarily feel utterly familiar of those interpretations that we've seen before. And there's nothing to say that they have to. I think there is room enough in Sondheim and Lapine's material that they could be interesting new interpretations. What's curious for me about Jonathan Bailey's stage role is at this point, the world knows him to be this incredibly charismatic and charming individual, and I'm all for him wanting to do challenging, transformative work on stage that is more interesting to him. But must we continue to cast him in these roles where we have to try and lie to ourselves and pretend that he is anything other than the charming individual that he is? George in Sunday in the park with George is somebody who struggles to express his romantic Inclinations, who says to Dot as she announces that she is leaving, that he cannot divide up his feelings as neatly as she can. He is so utterly focused, so dedicated to his art, that he is forsaking just about every other thing in his life. And in this way, George is quite gruff. He is not what we would call charming or particularly charismatic. We gain an insight into his soul when he sings the incredible song Finishing the Hat. But even the then he is speaking largely in metaphor. It's only at the climax of that piece of music that he really articulates how he is truly feeling. And that moment is scarce. For the most part, we are used to seeing George frowning, narrowing his eyes, staring at a painting that he is slowly bringing together and hiding behind a really big beard. All of which I have faith in Jonathan Bailey being able to achieve. But it's not something that we have really seen him do before, if I'm not mistaken. Mistaken. What George is, however, is passionate, which I think is something that Jonathan really would be able to deliver. I'd be very curious to see what his interpretation of that character in the second act would be, because we have a time jump between the first and second acts. And I just. I'm thinking about the Ariana Grande fans who are going to come and support her in this if it happens and if she plays this role on stage. And, you know, that's great for them to want to do that, and I'm happy for people to be exposed to musical theater. It was quite great for Wicked that that brought a wider fan focus into that world and that was great for musical theatre. Wicked is not Sunday in the park with George and it's not that second act of Sunday in the park with George either. Because other than move on for the most part, when people pull out material from Sunday in the park with George, it's the first act that they're pulling from. If you've seen production images, they're probably coming from the first act, that second act. I'm just thinking about groups of Ariana Grande fans grappling with the second act of Sunday in the park with George and the character that she will play for the majority of that second act, which hadn't thought about that part of the character myself before. That would be interesting. Anyway, let's back up a little bit and talk about Ariana Grande as Dot. Now, I am not one to count her out, and it would be an interesting vocal interpretation. Her voice is more versatile than we have had the chance to perceive in the more recent years of her Career, career, even in Wicked. And she moved a little bit away from her usual pop sound for Glinda, but she was still doing something on screen rather than on stage. So it's a very different kind of a diction that is required. And the tone of what she was doing with Glinda still wanted to be poppy to a certain extent.in Sunday. Very, very different. And diction incredibly important. You know, it's no getting married today, but the lyrics in a song like Everybody Loves Louis or even in the title song, Sunday in the park with George, there's an aw that she would need to articulate. And that sort of trademark modern pop girly sound of like, that's. That's not gonna fly when you're trying to sing. There are worse things than staring at the water as you're posing for a picture being painted by your lover. Like, I'm clearly not well practiced. I shan't be playing the role at the Barbican, but that's an awful lot to get your teeth around. I'm also thinking about accents. And obviously the show is Paris set. I say obviously, you may not know this. The show is Paris set. These characters are French, at least in the first act. I forget exactly where it is that the second is happening. I feel like it's America. But that is not something that British or American productions have ever concerned themselves with authentically replicating. It's the Les Mis of it all, where what they tend to do is go for a British accent. Even with Mandy and Bernadette, it was sort of a transatlantic, old fashioned movie musical kind of thing. Or Bernadette was. Was American, but she wasn't like broadly American. Would Jonathan and Ariana do their own accents or would they both kind of try and do a British thing? We know that Ariana Grande is a great impressionist. I think she could probably commit to a British accent for the duration of this show. And that might also inherently steer her in a slightly different vocal direction as well. The nature of the British accent being inherently just a little bit more clipped accent and singing aside, though, I think in terms of characterization, she might actually be even better suited for this. This than Jonathan is for George. And the fact that he has the more experienced stage chops probably then stands in his favor. But this lines up, I think, pretty neatly for her. I think she could be a really great dot because this role is all about unrequited romantic angst as well as comedy in those early moments and this sort of comedic frustration. And I can see her playing that Very wittily and then, then very movingly, I can hear her rendition of those lines towards the end of the first act when they're singing we do not Belong Together. And she's saying to him, I came to tell you I was leaving because I thought you might care to know. Foolish of me, for you care about nothing. I'm not going to spoil any more of the show for you, but I think this could be really great, as well as being an obviously hot ticket. The second that this gets announced, the second that it goes on sale, those tickets are going to get sold old because you're going to have the theatre fans who know that this is a big thing. You're going to have the Sondheim fans who take it upon themselves to be at every single major production. You're going to have the Jonathan Bailey fans, which I assume is just about everybody. You're going to have the Ariana Grande fans who are a large demographic from the mainstream, who don't normally get factored into theatre tickets going on sale. I have no idea what this on sale could even look like. It could be massive. Of course, that is currently all still very, very far away. I am hearing rumblings to suggest, guessed that there are teams of individuals potentially attached to this, giving considerable credence to the notion that this is a thing which is in development. If Baz is talking about it, that means that it is to some extent confirmed. But as he has shared, not everything is yet signed and definitely happening. It is still a little while off, but there is the ambition from all involved at this stage to make it work. Hopefully it's something that we see in 2027 and hopefully we can all get tickets. So those have been my thoughts about the possibility of Jonathan and Ariana reuniting on stage. Doing Sunday in the park with George. I am excited to see him back in the world of musical theater, potentially. I'm excited to see Ariana Grande returning to musical theater on stage many, many years after she last did it. And if this sort of rips off that Band Aid for both of them, then even if it's going to take a little bit of adjustment to get them to suit these roles, I'm happy that it's something that's happening and I'm happy selfishly that I would get to see a production of Sunday in the park with George. That's a ridiculous Sondheim show for me not to have yet ticked off of my list when I have seen Pacific Overtures, the Frogs Roadshow multiple times. Here we are and Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and anyone can whistle like how is Sunday in the park with George? One of my last film few. Anyway, you asked, I answered. Those are my thoughts on these rumours and the possibility of this revival actually happening. Let us all manifest together because I think it would be really exciting. Of course, if you disagree with that or anything else that I have said in this Theatre News recap, let me know in the comments section down below. Share all of your thoughts about this possible show and if you enjoyed listening to what I had to say about it and you would like to hear more of my recaps of Broadway and West End Theatre News, then make sure that you are subscribed right here on YouTube or following me on podcast platforms. In the meantime, I hope, as always, that everyone is staying safe and that you have a stagey day. For 10 more seconds, I'm Micky Jo Theater oh my God. Hey, thanks for watching. Have a stagey day.
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Date: December 18, 2025
Host: MickeyJoTheatre
This episode explores the widespread rumors that pop superstar Ariana Grande and acclaimed actor Jonathan Bailey may star together in a new London revival of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Sunday in the Park with George — potentially directed by Marianne Elliott at the Barbican in 2027. Host Mickey Jo discusses the origins of these rumors, the likelihood of the production happening, industry buzz, and whether Grande and Bailey are fitting choices for the lead roles.
[02:00 – 07:00]
“There is constantly conversation about: is Gaga gonna do A Funny Girl? Is Gaga gonna do Evita?... It seems like it’s never really going to happen unless the perfect opportunity arises.”
(05:55) – Mickey Jo
[07:00 – 12:00]
[12:00 – 19:00]
“Breaking news: Wicked stars Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey re-team for Sunday in the Park with George at London’s Barbican in 2027.”
“If Jonathan was gonna do musical theatre again, it was gonna be Sondheim and it was going to be Marianne Elliott directing.”
(13:48) – Mickey Jo
[20:03 – 26:45]
[19:00 – 20:00, 27:00 – 28:30]
“There’s nothing that’s really going to get in the way of this happening unless somebody pulls out and that causes the entire project to collapse.” (18:43)
On the “juicy rumor”:
“The last thing that I should be doing right now is engaging with rumors from the theater world. But this is so juicy a rumor that it’s been picked up just about everybody else.” (02:00)
On Jonathan Bailey’s charm vs. the role of George:
“What George is, however, is passionate, which I think is something that Jonathan really would be able to deliver. I’d be very curious to see what his interpretation... would be.” (21:50)
On Ariana Grande’s potential in the role:
“I can see her playing that very wittily and then, then very movingly. I can hear her rendition of those lines towards the end of the first act when they’re singing ‘We Do Not Belong Together.’” (25:05)
On industry excitement and ticket demand:
“The second that this gets announced, the second that it goes on sale, those tickets are going to get sold... I have no idea what this on sale could even look like. It could be massive.” (26:38)
On the reality of Broadway/West End pop-crossover:
“Between the touring schedules, putting out new music and taking on more lucrative Hollywood projects…it seems like it’s never really going to happen unless the perfect opportunity arises.” (06:09)
Mickey Jo expresses measured optimism for a Barbican 2027 revival of Sunday in the Park with George starring Jonathan Bailey and Ariana Grande. The opportunity is presented as both a rare high-profile Sondheim revival and an intriguing case of pop-star/Broadway crossover casting. While not all details are finalized, industry scuttlebutt and preliminary read-throughs suggest the project is more than idle gossip. With Grande potentially returning to the stage and Bailey reuniting with Marianne Elliott, this “hot ticket” could be a watershed moment for London theatre in 2027.
“Let us all manifest together because I think it would be really exciting.” (28:15) – Mickey Jo
For Broadway, West End, and Sondheim fans—and followers of both Bailey and Grande alike—this rumor is one to watch!