Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey‘s failed romantic relationship in Wicked gave way to a fruitful collaborative partnership in real life. The pair will keep their musical magic going as co-stars in the West End revival of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Sunday in the Park with George.
“All it has to be is good,” Grande and Bailey captioned a joint post on Instagram. In the image, they’re seated in front of Georges Seurat’s famous artwork, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. In the production, Bailey will portray the artist, referred to in the film as George, and Grande will portray Dot, his muse and mistress.
Marianne Elliott is attached to direct Sunday in the Park with George in its first revival since 2017, according to Deadline. A December report from the publication detailed plans for the show to potentially open at London’s Barbican Theatre in 2027.
Last year, Bailey returned to the theatre in the lead role in Richard II at London’s Bridge Theatre. He previously worked with Elliot on productions of Cock and Company in 2022 and 2018, respectively. As for Grande, it’s been a while since she’s been on a stage for something other than performing her pop hits. Her career began on Broadway in 2008 when she landed a role in 13, but television and pop stardom swept her away from the medium, only for film to then swipe her from both.
Grande appears to be making room for it all, now. This year, the singer will launch her first tour since 2019. She recently shared that the run will likely be her last for a long, long, long, long, long time, saying, “I’m going to give it my all and it’s going to be beautiful. I think that’s why I’m doing it because I’m like, ‘One last hurrah!’” She’ll also star in Focker In-Law.
“I first met Jonathan Bailey at dance rehearsal for Wicked,” Grande wrote in a tribute to Bailey for Time last year. “I was nervous because I have always found him so brilliant—having bookmarked and memorized a few bootleg clips of him onstage in Company and The Last Five Years—but from the moment we met, I felt like I was giggling with someone I had known for 20 years. I felt so immediately safe, connected to, and obsessed with my new scene partner and friend.”
