Prior to the performance, Lucas’ Ryan can be seen running backstage where he is greeted by his partner, played by Pentatonix‘s Scott Hoying.
“It means so much to me that you’re here,” Ryan says to his boyfriend, who replies, “I love you.” The two then share a kiss before Ryan jokes, “Now give me that mic,” and takes to the stage.
And while Kenny Ortega, the director of the original trilogy, has said he’d always intended Ryan to be a queer character, he felt as though audiences weren’t ready when the first movie musical premiered in 2006.
But now, Tim says Disney was more than ready to bring that longtime vision to life.
“Disney has always really had my back to tell the most inclusive stories we could with this show,” Tim continued to TVLine. “I know my executives read the script and wrote back, ‘Oh my gosh we love this so much.’ They just really genuinely couldn’t wait to see that come to life.”