Looking for a place to take the kids during the upcoming winter break? Why not do something wicked fun like heading to your local movie house to see “Wicked,” the new film adaptation of the long running Broadway musical by the same name?
Directed by Jon M. Chu and featuring a star-studded cast that includes Ariana Grande as Glinda “the good witch” and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba “the wicked witch,” “Wicked” has made history by casting disabled actor Marissa Bode as Elphaba’s disabled younger sister Nessarose.
Bode’s portrayal marks the first time since the theatrical production of “Wicked” opened in 2003 that the character of Nessarose, who uses a wheelchair, is being played by an actor who’s also a wheelchair user.
“Wicked” and the upcoming “Wicked Part 2”, which premieres next year, were Bode’s first feature film roles. A Wisconsin native, Bode, 24, began acting in local productions when she was 8 years old. At age 11, Bode was disabled in a car accident and she has used a wheelchair ever since. After high school, Bode attended the American Musical and Dramatic Arts Academy, which has locations in New York City and Los Angeles, where she currently resides.
According to Broadway World, Bode’s invitation to join the cast of “Wicked” was pretty, well, dramatic.
She was Zooming with “Wicked” director Jon M. Chu, when he suddenly told her that someone was at his door. “Chu proceeded to answer… bringing his camera along with him,” said Bode. “He opens the door and it’s Ari [Grande] and Cynthia [Erivo] with a sign that says, ‘Welcome to Oz! Will you be our Nessa?’ … It did not sink in until after I had hung up and immediately called my parents sobbing.”
Wicked’s crew included a disability advisor who ensured that the film’s set was wheelchair accessible. During the filming, Bode used an accessible trailer designed specifically with her needs in mind.
“They consulted with Chantel [the disability advisor],” said Bode, during the Broadway World interview. “She made suggestions, not thinking that they were going to do everything. But they did every single thing on the list to make it more accessible.”
Bode also worked with a wheelchair choreographer who helped her prepare for a scene in which she dances in her wheelchair. It was an eye-opening experience. “I never really grew up seeing wheelchair dancers or having much training in body movement and accommodations like that. …having somebody who knows a disabled body and how to move in a disabled body, was incredibly important.”
She’s hopeful that her performance empowers other disabled actors to demand the accommodations they need to do their jobs. “It’s more than possible to make things accessible. Point blank. Period.”
Moreover, Bode hopes that seeing her in the “Wicked” films will make people with disabilities feel “comfortable simply existing as a disabled person.”
