Sophia Bush had to say goodbye to the 2:22 A Ghost Story West End production sooner than she planned.
The former Chicago P.D. star, 41, said she caught a virus that was going through the company and has been advised by her medical team to stop performing to "get this under control."
In a lengthy Instagram post Friday evening, Bush said she was "gutted" that her time on the stage in London came to an early end. In June, other members of the company caught and recovered from the virus, but Bush was not as lucky.
"After weeks of being intermittently pulled off stage & visiting multiple doctors, specialists, & an all nighter in the ER, I’ve been advised by my medical team in London & America to stop performing in order to get this under control & to do so in the country where I reside under the care of my own doctors," the One Tree Hill alum wrote, adding that she was "crushed to not be able to finish" her run.
"It’s been a pleasure to perform for you all on your most special occasions," Bush wrote to her fans. "I’ve loved reading your messages about birthdays & anniversaries spent with us & I wish I could do more. I’m not one who ever leaves early. It’s devastating to say goodbye to an experience that’s been so incredibly fulfilling, both artistically & personally. Being a part of this company put me back in my body and in my soul. I was reminded, on a cellular level, of why I do this job & how much I love acting. I crossed an ocean to come home to myself."
Bush went on to thank her co-stars and the rest of the "incredible" company who became like family to her. "From ensuring I made it through shows once things got dicey with everything from medicine to flat sodas hidden backstage — even packing my feverish body in ice packs from head to toe on more than one night — you made it less terrifying to be struggling thousands of miles from my home & my family," she wrote.
After thanking her fans, including a special nod to those who traveled abroad to see her perform, Bush ended her message on a thoughtful note.
"I’m sad. Happy. Immensely grateful," she wrote. "There is no greater creative experience than the stage. I miss it madly. I love it deeply. I cannot wait for the next one."
2:22 A Ghost Story is a thriller play written by Danny Robbins that debuted at the Noël Coward Theatre in London last year. The production featuring Bush opened at the Apollo Theatre in May. Singer Frankie Bridge, a panelist on the ITV talk show Loose Women, will make her West End debut as Bush's replacement.
"It’s a total dream come true! I’ve loved the show since I first saw it," Bridge wrote on Instagram Friday. "It’s an honour to be making my West End debut on such a clever, suspense-filled production."
The play marked Bush's professional theater debut and came after her latest CBS show, Good Sam, was canceled after one season. In an interview with Broadway World, Bush said it was her husband Grant Hughes who told her she needed to star in 2:22 A Ghost Story. He saw the play's brief production in Los Angeles, which Bush missed because she was under the weather.
"Having read the script, I was so excited about it, because it's truly one of the best things I've read in years," Bush told the outlet. "Danny has written such a beautiful play - it's layered, and it's sharp and it's not too verbose, and there's nothing undeveloped, it's really dynamic. And so I said yes!"
