“Wicked” co-stars Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey are reuniting and returning to the stage with “Sunday in the Park with George”.
The project, a West End revival of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1984 musical, will be directed by Marianne Elliott.
Grande, 32, and Bailey, 37, confirmed the buzz on Wednesday with a joint post on social media featuring a picture of them seated at The Art Institute of Chicago in front of Georges Seurat’s iconic painting "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte," which inspired the musical.
“All it has to be is good,” they wrote in the Instagram post's caption, quoting the show’s title song.
Written by Sondheim with a book by Lapine, “Sunday in the Park with George” follows the journey of painter George Seurat as he labours over what would become his masterpiece. George is so consumed by his need to “finish the hat” that he increasingly becomes isolated from everyone around him, including his beloved and muse, Dot.
The musical chronicles the high price of artistic obsession, fast-forwarding a century in the second act to weigh the enduring legacy of Seurat’s work.
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The roles of George and Dot—to be essayed by Jonathan and Ariana, respectively—were created on Broadway by Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters in the 1984 production.
The show has enjoyed sustained popularity since its premiere, leading to multiple revivals and benefit concerts.
The project will also reunite “Bridgerton” star Bailey and Elliott, who directed him in the landmark West End production of Company.
Bailey, who was voted the Sexiest Man Alive by People, made his stage debut as Gavroche in “Les Misérables” at the age of 8. Grande began her career on Broadway as a teenager in 2008 musical “13.
“Sunday in the Park with George” will mark Grande's first stage role in nearly two decades, and also her first time ever on a West End stage.
Meanwhile, ahead of “Sunday in the Park with George”, the singer will go on her “Eternal Sunshine” tour, which may be her last.
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