Jonathan Bailey surprising his sister at Wicked: For Good screening is sweetest video you’ll see today
Jonathan Bailey and Ariana Grande in Wicked: For Good. (Universal)
Jonathan Bailey and Ariana Grande in Wicked: For Good. (Universal)
Footage of Jonathan Bailey surprising his sister at a screening of Wicked: For Good in Sydney is probably the sweetest thing you’ll see today.
Having turned up outside the cinema, unbeknown to the members of his family, Bailey, who plays Fiyero in the film, told a cheering audience: “I’m here to surprise my sister and my two nieces and her husband.
“I hope you don’t mind, but I’m gonna watch it with you,” he added before running towards his sister with his arms open wide. The siblings then embraced.
Wicked: For Good, the second part of Jon M Chu’s adaption of Broadway and West End hit musical Wicked, itself adapted from Gregory Maguire’s dark fantasy version of the original Wizard of Oz stories, opened in cinemas last week.
It grossed $226 million (£173 million) worldwide on its opening weekend, setting a record for a film adaptation of a Broadway musical, leaving even the first instalment in its wake.
But the movie has triggered criticism from conservative influencers, including YouTuber Isabel Brown, who was a friend of slain podcaster Charlie Kirk.
“I have been a massive, massive, massive fan of the story for basically my entire childhood and growing up into adulthood,” Brown said in a YouTube video, before criticising “psycho-leftist members of Hollywood” for “trying to manipulate some of the greatest stories of all time to specifically push a radical LGBTQ+ agenda, even if it has nothing to do with the story whatsoever.
“Apparently, everyone’s gay. The wizard is gay, the witches are gay, the professors are gay, the animals are gay. Even though all of this is fantasy.
The only protagonist actually understood to gay is Pfannee, a friend of Galinda/Glinda, played by Bowen Yang. There are many fan theories that Elphaba and Glinda are in love with each other, but that’s subtext and not a confirmed plot point.
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