Ariana Grande backs out of London musical amid break from public life
Retreating from the spotlight (after 10 massive London gigs, anyway)
Ariana Grande was set to appear in London’s revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George, but the singer and actor has pulled out of the performances amid a planned wholesale step back from public life.
The production is set to come to the Barbican next summer, with tickets due to go on sale this Autumn.
“Following the announcement from Ariana Grande's team, we can confirm that she has decided to step back from Sunday in the Park with George. We know this cannot have been an easy decision, and she makes it with our complete understanding and support,” the Barbican posted.
“The production will open at the Barbican in summer 2027 as planned, and casting will be announced in due course.”
Jonathan Bailey is the star of the upcoming production, but Grande’s departure from the show will no doubt dampen some fans’ excitement for it.
"Endless, ongoing public scrutiny"
So what has happened?
An Ariana Grande representative told People magazine, she will be “taking a step back” from public life, following “endless, ongoing public scrutiny.”
This came to a head of sorts over the weekend with the release of her new single (and album), Petal, and its music video — a short film from Christian Breslauer. It features Grande as a would-be starlet attending auditions, but after more than nine million views and 57,000 comments, the reaction to it has focused more on the star’s weight than her singing.
However, Grande has intimated multiple times over the last year she may need to take a career break.
“I think that it would probably be healthy to [take a break],” she told Vogue Japan in January. “These past few years have been pretty nonstop. And by few, I mean 15.”
She’s not wrong. But this announcement lands at one of the busiest periods of UK activity of the singer’s entire career.
She is set to embark on a 10-night run at The O2 this month, and there is no current suggestion her team’s statement on stepping back will affect this run. That entire concert series is sold out, equivalent to around 200,000 tickets.
Does she deserve a break, though? Absolutely.
Will she get one? That remains to be seen. Ariana Grande stars in Focker-in-Law, due in cinemas in late November, and we can imagine she may be contractually obliged to take part in promotion for the film around its release.
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