As the Broadway-turned-musical blockbuster continues to defy gravity at the box office and in many audiences’ hearts, it continues to reveal interesting bits about the actors and the production. The most recent BTS facts of the 2024 movie schedule hit come from the Good Witch herself, Ariana Grande about Jonathan Bailey’s work ethic. It’s not unlike Bowen Yang’s crazy commute schedule but his commitment to the beloved Ozian tale was showcased through his time spent learning the choreography on the set of Wicked and Bridgerton (and everywhere else in between).
The two costars were interviewed by People and Grande shared that Bailey was rehearsing his numbers seemingly non-stop between the two sets, as well as his off days. She even said that some of the dance crew were allowed to go see him on the Netflix series set. She shared (Via People's Instagram):
I mean, he was literally shooting Bridgerton and learning the choreography on his days off. He was flying in, having a dance rehearsal, and then flying back. And our…associate choreographers would come visit him on set and teach him in his dressing room, and so on and so forth.
It’s amazing to hear the dedication and heart Bailey and the rest of the cast put into this first part, I can’t imagine what’s waiting for us with Part 2. It was also very cool that the Bridgerton set okayed him to have a few Wicked choreographers visit him to continue to practice. The time spent paid off and showed up brilliantly for the Fellow Travelors actor, Fiyero was perfectly cast.
The 36-year-old, like the rest of his costars, put so much into the film and it is just so palpable while watching. What we feel continues to make more sense with every BTS factoid we learn as the cast continues to interview. That is especially true with any Grande and Cynthia Erivo teary-eyed interview, there’s just so much love in this iteration of Oz.
The press tour for Wicked has been just as eye-opening for someone like me, who never got a chance to see the Broadway version. It’s been an interesting lens to learn more about the story, its characters and the many caring interpretations that exist both on the screen and off. And it’s really cool to hear the admiration of castmate's commitment to the film like Grande has for Bailey.
If you’d like to watch Bailey in Bridgerton (he’s confirmed for Season 4) or Heartstopper you can with a Netflix subscription. And if you’d like to watch him and Ariana Grande in the greatly reviewed Wicked you can in theaters now.
