While the Wicked cast was dancing through life on the Wicked: One Wonderful Night television special, the Winkie Prince himself (a.k.a. Jonathan Bailey) was notably absent.
Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo headlined a one-night-only concert event that aired on NBC on Thursday, November 6, where they sang songs from Wicked and the upcoming Wicked: For Good. The women were joined by several of their costars, all while gushing about their experience making the blockbuster film and teasing the sequel’s twists.
Wicked, directed by Jon M. Chu, was adapted from the hit Broadway musical and charts the stories of the Wicked Witch of the West (Erivo) and Glinda the Good Witch of the North (Grande) long before The Wizard of Oz’s Dorothy went down the yellow brick road.
Throughout the first Wicked movie, Elphaba and Glinda both have crushes on new Shiz University student Fiyero (Bailey). The cast is rounded out by Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Ethan Slater, Marissa Bode and Bowen Yang, most of whom appeared on stage during One Wonderful Night.
No One Has a More Iconic Yearning Look Than Wicked's Jonathan Bailey
Keep scrolling to learn more about Bailey’s One Wonderful Night absence:
Why Wasn’t Jonathan Bailey at ‘Wicked: One Wonderful Night?’
It turns out that Bailey’s absence came down to scheduling conflicts.
“They were trying to move mountains to make it happen,” choreographer Christopher Scott told Variety. “We wanted to honor Jonathan, and honor the show, and give the fans something fresh and new that was fun for them.”
Who Performed ‘Dancing Through Life’ in Jonathan Bailey’s Place?
Jonathan Bailey performs ‘Dancing Through Life’ in ‘Wicked.’ Giles Keyte / Universal Pictures / Courtesy of Everett CollectionDuring the pretaped One Wonderful Night special, Yang was tapped to stand in for Bailey. (Yang portrays Glinda’s friend and Shiz classmate Pfannee in the films.)
“It opened up this opportunity to see another side of him,” Scott told Variety.
In addition to Yang tackling the “Dancing Through Life” choreography, costars Slater and Bode also wore replica Fiyero costumes in Bailey’s honor.
What Are Jonathan Bailey’s Upcoming Projects?
Bailey, who was recently named People’s Sexiest Man Alive, will next be seen in season 4 of Netflix’s Bridgerton when it premieres in January 2026. Bailey’s Anthony was notably the lead of season 2 and will return to assist brother Benedict (Luke Thompson) find love with Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha).
After promoting both Wicked: For Good and Bridgerton, Bailey plans to take an acting hiatus.
“I’ve been working solidly for about three years now, which has been amazing and mind-blowing,” he told British GQ in September. “With everything happening in the world right now, I’m going to stop acting for a bit next year and just focus on The Shameless Fund.”
Bailey, who is gay, launched The Shameless Fund in 2024 to support the LGBTQIA+ community.
“Over the next few months, I’ll be focusing on staffing and making sure we get all the right people in all the right places,” he told the outlet. “There’s this statistic: out of every £100 raised in the UK, only 1 [pence] goes to the LGBTQ+ community. You really have to dig to find solutions, and I genuinely think The Shameless Fund is exactly that.”
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