Ariana Grande and her Wicked co-star Ethan Slater made headlines last month for being in a blossoming relationship on the heels of news that the singer is heading for divorce with husband Dalton Gomez. After recent reports swirled that Slater has been spending extended time in New York City navigating his own divorce with his estranged wife Lily Jay, with whom he shares a child, we’ve learned he’s set to have a supporting role in an upcoming Broadway revival.
Monty Python’s Spamalot announced on Wednesday that Ethan Slater has been cast as The Historian, a.k.a. Prince Herbert, in the upcoming Broadway musical set to begin performances this fall. As it seems, Grande’s boyfriend is not shying away from the spotlight amidst the news and controversy surrounding his relationship status. Check out the announcement:
Slater will be joined in the Spamalot revival is the narrator by other Broadway stars like Waitress’ Christopher Fitzgerald and Aladdin’s James Monroe Iglehart. Slater is no stranger to Broadway considering he starred in the original cast of SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical from 2016 to 2017, along with the 2019 television special, and he earned a Tony nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical in 2018.
The Spamalot social account deleted the ability for accounts to comment on the announcement of Slater alone after tons of people took to slamming the Broadway actor amidst the news. Nonetheless, it’s a great opportunity for Slater, especially since the comedy musical has not been on Broadway since 2005.
Grande and Slater both reportedly met in London in late 2022 while part of the cast of the Wicked movies, with Grande starring as Glinda the Good Witch, and Slater playing Boq. Per the reports, both of them ended relationships with their spouses months before becoming a couple. Slater allegedly filed for divorce from his wife a couple of weeks ago and has been making it a priority to create as smooth of a transition as possible with his family.
Ariana Grande has reportedly been giving Slater some space in recent weeks to sort things out even though the couple is very much planning to progress their own relationship. Slater was married to his wife for around five years after being high school sweethearts, whilst Grande got married to Dalton Gomez in 2020.
The Wicked movies were being shot back to back and reportedly had under two weeks of filming left when the SAG Actors Strike paused filming. It’s unclear when the actors strike will end, but in the meantime, Slater’s move back to Broadway makes sense given the climate in Hollywood. The first of the two Wicked features is among upcoming 2024 movies, hitting theaters next November 27.