14 DAYS OF AARON - (day 8: #tbt - Favorite Early Role)

just rough sketch

JONATHAN BAILEY as FIYERO WICKED | 2024

“Excuse me, there is no pretense here. I happen to be genuinely self-absorbed and deeply shallow."

Best of Jonathan Bailey in 2024 | Best Role: Fiyero Tigelaar (Wicked: Part One)

Wicked dir. Jon M. Chu | 2024

late posts of some of my Wicked act2 scenes. 

Fiyero: "Excuse me, there's no pretense here. I happen to be genuinely self-absorbed and deeply shallow."

Elphaba: "No you're not."

(remade)

Nothing Left to Lose

A commission for @thatonespacytallgirl who wanted some Fiyeraba hurt and comfort of Fiyero getting captured after trying to free Dr. Dillamond and other Animals in the Palace.

She gave me permission to share so enjoy!!

JONATHAN BAILEY

behind the scenes of WICKED (dir. Jon M. Chu, 2024)

Thoughts on Fiyeraba and Touch

Based on the Fiyeraba February prompt "Touch"

-It's interesting that each of them has a line where they invite/give permission to the other one to touch them "Kiss me too fiercely, hold me too tight" and "Go ahead, touch".

-It's also interesting that As Long as You're Mine is not just a beautiful love song, but is very centered around sex (or other physical intimacy). Clearly touch and sex are important to their relationship and a way they show love for each other.

-They are both characters so defined by their bodies and the ways others see them, but they both see through the outer appearance others have chosen to define them by. They care about the other one's body because it's the other one's body. Their bodies are a way to connect to each other, not something to be focused on the appearance of.

-Elphaba has been really deprived of touch due to her uncaring family and the way others avoid her. Fiyero has likely had at least a handful of sexual partners and he has physical contact with a lot of strangers in Dancing Through Life, but he hasn't been touched with love and care before.

-It's obvious, but when she touches his hand in the lion cub scene it's a very defining moment in their relationship. The way it feels to touch the other one surprises and overwhelms them and makes the connection between them incredibly obvious to both them and the audience. Even if, from the outside, they may seem like an unlikely couple, the feeling they get from this contact is like a shining beacon.

-When she touches his face moments later it is an act of love and care and reestablishes the intense connection between them. They barely know each other, and yet she still feels this draw towards touching him. I'm Not That Girl shows she feels like she's not even allowed to have romantic feelings for anyone, but, in that moment, the draw towards him is so strong and natural it supersedes her insecurity.

-During As Long as You're Mine they are all over each other holding each other's faces, kissing each other's hands. There is a big sense of "this is your hand, it is a part of you and I get to touch it".

-Fiyero is a character who really believed that most of if not all of his value came from his looks, but, even after being changed into the scarecrow, Elphaba is still lovingly cradling his face in her hands as he has lovingly cradled her face that she believed no one could love

JONATHAN BAILEY & ARIANA GRANDE rehearsing “Dancing Through Life”