It’s likely that the Wizard of Oz’s Scarecrow would agree with Fiyero’s musical soliloquy that, “Life’s more painless for the brainless.”
Gregory Maguire’s Wicked explores what the iconic characters Glinda the Good Witch and the Wicked Witch of the West were like long before they were first introduced in 1939’s The Wizard of Oz. In the prequel, the classic Oz characters — Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion — are revealed to be members of Elphaba and Glinda’s class from Shiz University.
The true identity of Scarecrow is actually Prince Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey), who was magically transformed by Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) in an attempt to save him from harm. Fiyero is Scarecrow — a.k.a. a straw-filled character who doesn’t have a real brain — the love interest who is considered to be superfluous and unintelligent.
While none of the Wicked stars have teased how Fiyero goes from Winkie Prince to brainless scarecrow, Bailey has been candid about his acting process.
Theater lovers and movie goers alike have been counting down the days until the film adaptation of Broadway’s Wicked premieres. Wicked made its stage debut in 2003, with Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth playing witches Elphaba and Glinda, respectively. More than two decades later, fans are getting a two-part movie version of the musical starring […]
“The starting point was ‘Dancing Through Life.’ He creates chaos around him, like he does in that song, because he’s got to match the chaos that’s going on inside,” Bailey told W magazine in December 2024. “The challenge that I felt was the trope of a cool caddish prince. He’s deeply unnerved by stillness and adhering to rules and structure. That is probably a sign of someone who’s never really experienced love.”
He added, “When you see someone causing that sort of disturbance, it’s usually because they’ve never felt seen. An organizational psychologist, Adam Grant, sent me a message saying, ‘It’s a masterful portrayal of superficiality masking depth.’ Out of all the things I’ve heard, that is the thing I’m going to get printed on a T-shirt.”
Fiyero is originally introduced as Glinda’s (Ariana Grande) love interest after they meet in the Shiz University campus library, where he busts out “Dancing Through Life.”
“Fiyero has to come in and change the physical language and the emotional landscape of that school in one number,” Bailey told the magazine. “His fluidity, ease, and elasticity speak to his ability to maneuver and avoid. He’s quite avoidant. He has these bright, shining moments with everyone but never really allows the other person to land it with him. For those who understand the physical language of Fiyero, there are many Easter eggs and nods to what happens to him later in the story.”
Universal Studios ; Warner Bros., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo are the latest stars to step into the iconic roles of Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West, but how does their film adaptation of the Broadway musical Wicked connect to the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz? Even the OG […]
Per the book and stage show, Fiyero ultimately leaves Glinda for Elphaba. The greenified witch eventually conducts a spell to protect him from guards serving the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum) that seek his capture so that they can still be together. However, Elphaba botches the spell and Fiyero is turned into a scarecrow.
Wicked: For Good premieres in theaters Friday, November 21.
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