Calling Jonathan Bailey “Unprofessional” for Leaving Sunday in the Park With George is a Reach
by Chris Peterson
I've seen the word "unprofessional" getting tossed around since Jonathan Bailey announced that he was leaving the upcoming London revival of Sunday in the Park With George.
I don't get it.
Am I disappointed? Of course. Jonathan Bailey playing George opposite Ariana Grande's Dot sounded fantastic.
But Bailey leaving now doesn't strike me as some breach of professionalism.
Grande announced in August that she was stepping away from the production as part of a larger break from public-facing work. Bailey followed on September 1, saying Grande is one of his closest friends, that his support for her is "unwavering," and that after thinking it through, he had decided to step away too.
And immediately, some people decided he had done something wrong.
Why?
This production is scheduled for summer 2027. Tickets aren't on sale. The rest of the cast hasn't even been announced.
If Bailey had walked out during rehearsals, or disappeared a few weeks before opening after thousands of people had bought tickets specifically to see him, then yes, we're having a much different conversation.
That isn't what happened. This was still a production being put together.
Actors leave projects at this stage all the time.
Sometimes the person you were excited about working opposite isn't doing it anymore, and suddenly the project doesn't feel quite the same.
Grande and Bailey are close friends. They've already worked together. And Sunday in the Park With George is built around George and Dot. Those two actors are carrying an enormous amount of the show together.
If part of Bailey's excitement was doing that work with Grande, and then Grande left, I can understand why he might look at the whole thing differently.
I don't know that this was his exact reasoning. None of us do. But I also don't need to invent some character flaw to explain it.
There's a strange thing that happens now whenever major casting gets announced. Fans immediately start treating that announcement like the actor has entered into some personal agreement with them.
You were announced. Therefore you owe us the performance.
No. You can be bummed. I am. But calling him unprofessional because he stepped away from a show that isn't opening for months, hasn't sold tickets and hadn't announced the rest of its company feels like we're searching for a scandal where there really isn't one.
And apparently the producers aren't treating it like one either. The production is moving forward. Casting discussions are happening. They'll find a new George and Dot. That's theatre.
I'm still interested in seeing what they do with it. Losing both stars could end up changing the entire feel of this revival, and maybe that leads somewhere interesting.
But Jonathan Bailey doesn't owe me George. He doesn't owe anyone a year of his life because we got excited about a casting announcement.
The circumstances changed. He made a decision long before audiences were sitting in seats waiting for him to walk onstage.
Be disappointed. Calling him unprofessional is a reach.