Under the Spotlight: Jonathan Bailey is awestruck while dancing through ‘Wicked’
Though he is understandably overshadowed by the divine performances of Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, it’s still not possible to overstate what a boon Jonathan Bailey is to Wicked.
Everyone blends into the medium of this Broadway adaptation well enough: they can all clearly sing and act, but I wouldn’t assume what their exact performing arts experience was up until that point, while Bailey, on the other hand, is perceptibly a musical theatre actor and is wonderful every second for it.
The actor is a Laurence Olivier Award winner who has talked about the “spiritual experience” of working with Shakespearean actor Ian McKellen, proving his cred as a man of the stage. When Fiyero kicks off ‘Dancing Through Life’, the sheer ‘theatre kid having a good time’ energy takes over Bailey, his physicality amazing, combined with great choreography, which shows his character authentically letting loose. He is also naturally comfortable with everyone, organically interacting (and flirting) with each student and even the librarian, making everyone feel included in this moment that marks the transforming of the mentality of the school.
The crux of Fiyero’s character arc suggests that his life-of-the-party attitude is a façade, but Bailey leading the dance in the library and then the ballroom shows that he can still be very joyous and has a way with people. The Bridgerton star also has a very finely-tuned sense of humour in Wicked when it comes to how his character interacts with Elphaba and Glinda, as both pairings have their own brand of witty banter.
When Elphaba and Fiyero meet, sure, he’s surprised by her green skin, but he quickly moves on to deflecting her regular comments without missing a beat. Then his scoundrel gentleman demeanour shifts ever so slightly with Glinda, where they bounce off each other as though they are both in on the joke of their ‘popular’ personas, but completely invested in playing out the scene; I personally think “our first fight” is actually one of his best line deliveries.
Bailey also deftly handles Fiyero’s more sombre scenes, such as his moment with Elphaba in the forest, which is a bit clichéd, but I most enjoyed it for his back and forth with the green-skinned witch. Something far more noteworthy in terms of his dramatic chops being on show in part one is back at the Ozdust. The benefit of the cinematic medium is that you can cut away to focus on another character’s face for a moment, and while Elphaba and Glinda are obviously the stars of the scene, for a second, it considers other characters’ reactions, especially highlighting Bailey’s evocative display.
The Wicked film succeeded in making Elphaba and Glinda’s reconciliation truly surreal, and Biley’s character plays an important part in inviting the audience into the fold of it. Before the dance starts, Fiyero comments that Elphaba “doesn’t give a twig what anyone thinks”, genuinely impressed, before being earnestly reassuring when Glinda says she feels awful. When their duet begins, he doesn’t quite know how to process it, but realises the weight of what’s happening, and as they dance, it cuts away to Fiyero, who is mystified, entirely in awe of what he is seeing. The scene then goes back to him again, watching, intrigued and changed as the women leave the ballroom.
Bailey’s performance is one of the quieter things to look forward to in Wicked: For Good because it is going to be especially challenging, for Fiyero should have handled the situation with Glinda better, and convincing us of the inner turmoil that made it this bad requires true skill. Luckily, we have already been dazzled by Bailey’s mix of lively and dramatic acting, making his weightier material this time around all the more exciting.
