LAS VEGAS (AP) — When Ariana Grande,Cynthia Erivo and director Jon M. Chu took the stage in Las Vegas last April to tease “Wicked” months before its theatrical release, there was cautious optimism that the long-anticipated film would be a hit.
But when the pair hit the same stage at the annual CinemaCon convention Wednesday to promote “Wicked: For Good,” it felt like a kind of victory lap following the first movie’s critical acclaim and box office success.
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Gareth Edwards, from left, director of the upcoming film "Jurassic World Rebirth," Mahershala Ali, left, and Scarlett Johansson, cast members of the upcoming film "Jurassic World Rebirth," appear onstage during the Universal Pictures and Focus Features presentation at CinemaCon on Wednesday, April 2, 2025, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Dancers perform during the Universal Pictures and Focus Features presentation at CinemaCon on Wednesday, April 2, 2025, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Jason Blum, CEO of Blumhouse Productions, appears onstage during the Universal Pictures and Focus Features presentation at CinemaCon on Wednesday, April 2, 2025, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Gareth Edwards, from left, director of the upcoming film "Jurassic World Rebirth," Mahershala Ali, left, and Scarlett Johansson, cast members of the upcoming film "Jurassic World Rebirth," appear onstage during the Universal Pictures and Focus Features presentation at CinemaCon on Wednesday, April 2, 2025, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Mahershala Ali, left, and Scarlett Johansson, cast members of the upcoming film "Jurassic World Rebirth," appear onstage during the Universal Pictures and Focus Features presentation at CinemaCon on Wednesday, April 2, 2025, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Cynthia Erivo, left, and Ariana Grande, cast members of the upcoming film "Wicked: For Good," speak during the Universal Pictures and Focus Features presentation at CinemaCon on Wednesday, April 2, 2025, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Ariana Grande, cast member of the upcoming film "Wicked: For Good," speaks during the Universal Pictures and Focus Features presentation at CinemaCon on Wednesday, April 2, 2025, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Jon M. Chu, from left, director of the upcoming film "Wicked: For Good," Ariana Grande, and Cynthia Erivo, cast members of the upcoming film "Wicked: For Good," appear onstage during the Universal Pictures and Focus Features presentation at CinemaCon on Wednesday, April 2, 2025, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
“This is the third year that ‘Wicked’ has closed Universal’s CinemaCon presentation,” Chu said. “Thank God it worked out.”
“Wicked: For Good” hits theaters in November, completing the adaptation of the long-running Broadway musical inspired by “The Wizard of Oz.” It stars Erivo as the green-skinned Elphaba Thropp, who becomes the Wicked Witch of the West, and Grande as Glinda.
“We already have our tissues packed,” Grande teased, referring to the pair’s sentimental, viral press tour that often resulted in one or both of its stars in tears.
“I promise less waterworks this time,” Erivo added, before they debuted a short montage of footage from the film.
The “Wicked” crew closed out an impressive — and aptly theatrical — presentation of the upcoming slate from Universal Pictures.
Hollywood’s Oscar season brings an annual chance for actors and filmmakers to swap kudos for their artistry. After it comes the CinemaCon convention and trade show, where studios and movie theaters take their turns giving pep talks and pats on the back.
Universal demonstrated that any pep talk is made better with music — particularly anthemic or nostalgic songs from films old and new, like “Psycho,” “Jurassic Park” and, of course, “Wicked.” The studio took advantage of these and other familiar themes with a live orchestra as it made its pitch about their docket of films on the main stage at Caesars Palace.
They pulled out the stops for “Jurassic World: Rebirth,” one of Universal’s other biggest films of the year, hitting theaters in July. Stars Mahershala Ali and Scarlett Johansson, along with director Gareth Edwards, walked out as the orchestra played its iconic theme.
“It has been a lifelong dream to be in a ‘Jurassic’ movie. For the last 15 years, each time I heard that they were making a movie, I reached out and would say, ‘I’m available,’” Johansson said.
The presentation followed a preview screening of “How to Train Your Dragon,” a live-action adaptation of the animated franchise, earlier in the day. The film, which stars Gerard Butler and Mason Thames, will be released in June.
The live orchestra was helmed by Emmy-winning composer Rickey Minor, the former bandleader on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.”
But the stunts didn’t stop at live music. When teasing his myriad horror films on the horizon, producer Jason Blum walked out dressed as antagonist Freddy Fazbear to tease “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2,” which will be released theatrically in December.
To top off the Blumhouse Productions slate, 30 actors dressed as M3GAN — the artificially intelligent and sometimes hyper-violent subject of the film of the same name — danced to a rendition of “Oops!… I Did It Again.” “M3GAN 2.0” hits theaters in June.
Dancers perform during the Universal Pictures and Focus Features presentation at CinemaCon on Wednesday, April 2, 2025, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Jason Blum, CEO of Blumhouse Productions, appears onstage during the Universal Pictures and Focus Features presentation at CinemaCon on Wednesday, April 2, 2025, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Gareth Edwards, from left, director of the upcoming film "Jurassic World Rebirth," Mahershala Ali, left, and Scarlett Johansson, cast members of the upcoming film "Jurassic World Rebirth," appear onstage during the Universal Pictures and Focus Features presentation at CinemaCon on Wednesday, April 2, 2025, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Mahershala Ali, left, and Scarlett Johansson, cast members of the upcoming film "Jurassic World Rebirth," appear onstage during the Universal Pictures and Focus Features presentation at CinemaCon on Wednesday, April 2, 2025, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Cynthia Erivo, left, and Ariana Grande, cast members of the upcoming film "Wicked: For Good," speak during the Universal Pictures and Focus Features presentation at CinemaCon on Wednesday, April 2, 2025, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Ariana Grande, cast member of the upcoming film "Wicked: For Good," speaks during the Universal Pictures and Focus Features presentation at CinemaCon on Wednesday, April 2, 2025, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Jon M. Chu, from left, director of the upcoming film "Wicked: For Good," Ariana Grande, and Cynthia Erivo, cast members of the upcoming film "Wicked: For Good," appear onstage during the Universal Pictures and Focus Features presentation at CinemaCon on Wednesday, April 2, 2025, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — Memorials were taking place Thursday for a merengue star and others killed when a cement roof collapsed at a popular nightclub in the Dominican Republic, as the number of dead surged to 221 and crews completed their search for bodies.
Mourners clad in black and white streamed into Santo Domingo’s National Theater, where the body of Rubby Pérez lay inside a closed coffin. Pérez had been performing on stage at the packed Jet Set club early Tuesday when dust began falling from the ceiling and, seconds later, the roof caved.
President Luis Abinader and first lady Raquel Arbaje arrived at the theater and stood beside Pérez's coffin for several minutes. Some mourners doubled over in tears as a recording of Pérez singing the national anthem played. Renowned Dominican musician Juan Luis Guerra was among those gathered to pay their respects.
Pérez, 69, had turned to music after a car accident left him unable to pursue his dream of becoming a professional baseball player. He was known for hits including “Volveré," which he sang with Wilfrido Vargas's orchestra, and “Buscando tus besos" as a solo artist.
Just blocks from the memorial for Pérez, heavy equipment began withdrawing from the site where Jet Set once stood and rescue crews packed up their equipment.
Meanwhile, a group of prosecutors arrived.
It is still unclear what caused the roof to collapse or when the building was last inspected. The government has said it will launch a thorough investigation, and the club’s owners have said they are cooperating with authorities.
Juan Manuel Méndez, director of the Center of Emergency Operations, broke down as he addressed reporters.
“Thank you, God, because today we accomplished the most difficult task I’ve had in 20 years,” he said, moving the microphone away from his face as he cried. Other officials patted him on the back as he continued, “Please forgive me,” before passing the microphone to an army official.
Officials said 189 people were rescued alive from the rubble. More than 200 were injured, with 24 of them still hospitalized, including eight in critical condition.
“If the trauma is too great, there’s not a lot of time” left to save patients in that condition, said Health Minister Víctor Atallah. He and other doctors said some of the injured suffered fractures to the skull, femur and pelvis.
Many people have been anxiously waiting for news of their loved ones, growing frustrated with the drip-drip of information provided by hospitals and the country’s forensic institute.
At least 146 bodies have been identified, authorities said Thursday.
María Luisa Taveras told TV station Noticias SIN that she was looking for her sister.
“We have gone everywhere they have told us,” she said, her voice breaking.
Taveras said the family has spread out, with a relative stationed at each hospital and at the National Institute of Forensic Pathology. Dozens of people waited at the institute Thursday, wearing face masks and complaining about the smell as they demanded the release of their loved ones' bodies.
“The odor is unbearable,” said Wendy Sosa, who has been waiting since Wednesday morning for the body of her cousin, 61-year-old Nilka Curiel González. Sosa told The Associated Press by phone that the situation there was “chaotic,” and that officials had set up a refrigerated container to handle the volume of bodies being delivered.
She wept as she described her cousin as gracious, authentic, and “very empathetic."
Victims identified so far include former MLB players Octavio Dotel and Tony Enrique Blanco Cabrera; and Nelsy Cruz, the governor of the northwestern province of Montecristi whose brother is seven-time Major League Baseball All-Star Nelson Cruz.
Dotel will be buried Thursday in Santo Domingo. Hundreds of people attended his wake on Wednesday, including Hall of Famer David Ortiz, formerly of the Boston Red Sox. Ortiz said the number of people who attended Dotel’s wake spoke volumes.
“He was a person whom everyone loved,” Ortiz told reporters. “It’s very hard, very hard, truly.”
MLB Hall of Famer Pedro Martínez attended another wake Thursday.
“There are no words to describe the pain we are all feeling,” said Martínez, adding that he knew more than 50 of those who died. “Life is but a breath.”
Also killed was a retired United Nations official; saxophonist Luis Solís, who was playing onstage when the roof fell; New York-based fashion designer Martín Polanco; the son and daughter-in-law of the minister of public works; the brother of the vice minister of the Ministry of Youth; and three employees of Grupo Popular, a financial services company, including the president of AFP Popular Bank and his wife.
More than 20 victims came from Haina, Rubby Pérez's hometown, just southwest of Santo Domingo.
On Thursday, the governor held a communal wake, setting up 10 stands for coffins beneath a banner that read: “Haina bids farewell to her beloved children with immense sorrow.”
Among the mourners was Juancho Guillén, who lost his wife three months ago and whose brother, sister and brother-in-law died at Jet Set.
“This family is in shock, is devastated," he told Noticias SIN. "We’re practically dead too.”
Coto reported from San Juan, Puerto Rico.
An excavator works at the site of the Jet Set nightclub days after its roof collapsed during a concert, killing more than 200 people in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
A person is comforted before identifying the body of a family member who died at the Jet Set nightclub, days after its roof collapsed during a concert and killed more than 200 people, outside the National Institute of Forensic Pathology in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Mourners attend a memorial for Rubby Perez, the merengue singer who was performing at the Jet Set nightclub when its roof collapsed, killing more than 200 people, at the National Theater in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Rescue workers stand at site of the Jet Set nightclub days after its roof collapsed during a concert, killing more than 200 people in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Rescue workers stand at the Jet Set nightclub days after its roof collapsed, killing more than 200 people in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader, center right, and his wife Raquel Arbaje Soni speak with the family of Dominican singer Rubby Perez who died in the roof collapse at the Jet Set nightclub while performing in concert, during the wake at the Eduardo Brito National Theater in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Workers prepare a crane on the third day of rescue efforts at the Jet Set nightclub after its roof collapsed during a merengue concert in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Dominican singer Juan Luis Guerra, left, attends a wake of Rubby Perez, the merengue singer who was performing at the Jet Set nightclub when its roof collapsed, killing more than 200 people, at the National Theater in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
An excavator removes concrete at the Jet Set nightclub after its roof collapsed three nights before during a merengue concert in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Zulinka, center, the daughter of Dominican singer Rubby Perez who died in the roof collapse at the Jet Set nightclub during his merengue concert, cries during his wake at the Eduardo Brito National Theater in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
The hat and sunglasses of Dominican singer Rubby Perez, who died in the roof collapse at the Jet Set nightclub during his merengue concert, sit on his casket during his wake at the Eduardo Brito National Theater in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
An image of victim Nelsy Cruz, governor of Montecristi, is seen at a makeshift vigil for the victims of the Jet Set club roof collapse, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
Rescue workers carry the recovered body of a victim who died when the roof collapsed two nights prior at the Jet Set nightclub during a merengue concert, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ricardo Hernandez)
Soldiers prepare to assist with security during the rescue effort at Jet Set nightclub after its roof collapsed during a merengue concert in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ricardo Hernandez)
A poster of victim Rubby Perez is seen at a makeshift vigil for the victims of the Jet Set club roof collapse in the Dominican Republic, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
People attend a Mass for the victims of the Jet Set club roof collapse, at St. Elizabeth's Church, Wednesday, April 9, 2025 in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
People attend a Mass for the victims of the Jet Set club roof collapse at St. Elizabeth's Church, Wednesday, April 9, 2025 in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
People pray for their missing relatives outside Jet Set nightclub after its roof collapsed during a merengue concert in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ricardo Hernandez)
Rescue workers carry the recovered body of a victim who died when the roof collapsed two nights prior at the Jet Set nightclub during a merengue concert, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, (AP Photo/Ricardo Hernandez)
Rescue workers search for bodies at the Jet Set nightclub after its roof collapsed during a merengue concert in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Rescue workers search for bodies at the Jet Set nightclub after its roof collapsed during a merengue concert in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Rescue workers carry the recovered body of a victim who died when the roof collapsed two nights prior at the Jet Set nightclub during a merengue concert in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Rescue workers search for bodies at the Jet Set nightclub after its roof collapsed during a merengue concert in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Rescue workers carry the recovered body of a victim in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Thursday, April 10, 2025 who died when the roof collapsed two nights prior at the Jet Set nightclub during a merengue concert. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
A man sleeps on bottles of water in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in front of the Jet Set nightclub after its roof collapsed during a merengue concert. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Rescue workers carry the recovered body of a victim who died when the roof collapsed two nights prior at the Jet Set nightclub during a merengue concert in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
People who spent all night at the site of the Jet Set nightclub in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Thursday, April 10, 2025, continue to wait for news of survivors after its roof collapsed two nights prior during a merengue concert. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Rescue workers carry the recovered body of a victim in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Thursday, April 10, 2025 who died when the roof collapsed two nights prior at the Jet Set nightclub during a merengue concert. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Women cry during the search for survivors at the Jet Set nightclub after its roof collapsed two nights prior during a merengue concert in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ricardo Hernandez)
Family members wait to identify the remains of their loved who died when the roof collapsed at the Jet Set nightclub during a merengue concert, in a parking lot of the National Institute of Forensic Pathology in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, (AP Photo/Marvin Del Cid)
Rescue workers stand next to a recovered body of a victim who died when the roof collapsed two nights prior at the Jet Set nightclub during a merengue concert, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, (AP Photo/Ricardo Hernandez)
