Ariana Grande’s decision to pull back from the spotlight is affecting her schedule more than anticipated. According to Variety, the planned 2027 London revival of Sunday in the Park With George, which was originally expected to reunite Grande with her Wicked co-star Jonathan Bailey, has been canceled after both stars departed the production. Producers have indicated that they may revisit the project in 2028.
For Grande, the cancellation further underscores the break she announced in August. Her representative said she intended to take “a step back from visibility” after wrapping her Eternal Sunshine tour, calling it a “much-deserved break from public-facing work and appearances” following “endless, ongoing public scrutiny.”
Grande later clarified that her decision wasn’t an impulsive reaction to a specific wave of online criticism. Speaking to fans during an August concert in Chicago, she explained that the choice had been in the works for quite some time.
“The announcement that was made yesterday was not a reactive or impulsive thing,” Grande said. “It’s a plan that I had quietly made a long time ago, and it’s a decision that was made from a thoughtful and empowered place.”
She added, “Boundaries can need to be set. Human beings can need a break sometimes.”
The clarification was particularly significant given the intense attention surrounding Grande’s appearance and health. She has repeatedly spoken about public scrutiny of her body, including in a 2024 interview where she recalled experiencing that level of attention since her teenage years.
“I have heard every form of what is wrong with me,” Grande said at the time, describing people’s willingness to comment on someone else’s body as “dangerous.”
Her professional schedule had also become increasingly demanding. Grande spent years working on the two Wicked films while returning to recording, releasing Eternal Sunshine in 2024 and eventually hitting the road in June 2026 for her first major tour in more than six years. Even before announcing her break, Grande had been pushing back against expectations that she could continue adding projects to an already packed schedule.
After remarks she made earlier this year were interpreted as teasing another album, Grande took to Instagram to correct the report and jokingly addressed how much work fans seemed to expect from her. “Ma’am i would need an extra brain and four more arms,” she wrote.
Grande did eventually release Petal in July while her Eternal Sunshine tour was still underway. The tour wrapped up Sept. 1 in London following 41 shows, with Grande telling the final audience that it had been “one of the most beautiful extraordinary experiences” of her life.
Her decision to step away doesn’t appear to mean she’s disappearing altogether. Grande is still expected to promote Focker-in-Law, her upcoming movie with Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro, ahead of its Nov. 25 release.
However, Sunday in the Park With George would have represented a major future commitment. Grande was set to portray Dot and Marie opposite Bailey’s Georges Seurat in the Stephen Sondheim musical.
Following Grande’s departure, producers initially planned to recast her and move ahead with the 2027 production. Bailey eventually exited the project as well, leading the company to scrap its plans for next year.
