Netflix had people buzzing all week with its all-star cast for Ryan Murphy's upcoming adaptation of musical The Prom. However, one prominent starlet may not actually be a part of the final production. Deadline originally reported that Ariana Grande would play the role of popular girl Alyssa, joining castmates Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman in the story of two Broadway has-beens who rally behind a gay high school student. However, Billboard writes that the singer will not be participating in the production due to her touring schedule.
The casting news already caused a bit of a stir, with fans of the original Broadway musical worrying that Murphy will straight-wash the proudly queer show, and lamenting that Netflix should instead just instead film an original stage performance.
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In addition to the role of Alyssa, it was also reported that Grande would be producing the soundtrack alongside Murphy and manager Scooter Braun. It's unclear if that still holds true now that she may no longer be part of the cast. Neither Netflix or a rep for Grande immediately returned Refinery29's request for comment.
It's not like Grande couldn't benefit from cutting back a bit. In the midst of traveling all of the world for her Sweetener tour, she's also producing the soundtrack for the upcoming Charlie's Angels reboot, which includes a collaboration between Grande, Miley Cyrus, and Lana Del Rey. Then, just last week, she added even more performance dates.
However, that doesn't mean you can't still be bummed that she won't bring some of her diva magic to The Prom, especially since she got her start in the musical 13 back in 2008. She also played Penny in Hairspray Live! in 2016. Basically, this means that even if The Prom isn't in Grande's future, her musical days are far from over.
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