As Nessarose, Marissa Bode writes ‘Wicked’ history in film debut

The cast of “Wicked” is stacked with familiar names: Cynthia ErivoAriana Grande, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Jonathan Bailey, Peter Dinklage, Bowen Yang.

But an actor you probably not knows makes “Wicked” history: Marissa Bode. The first actor to authentically use a wheelchair to play Nessarose, the “tragically beautiful” younger sister of Elphaba (Erivo) – Bode not only directs one of the film’s most romantic scenes, but also creates what she hopes will be a watershed moment for disability representation in Hollywood.

“I love seeing disabled characters played authentically by real disabled people because nobody knows us better than us,” Bode told The Times.

“Representation for authentic disabled people is already quite minimal, so to have the opportunity and make a point out of it, especially in a huge project that is loved by so many people, is incredibly important, especially in terms of sending a message to other projects where it is possible to include disabled people in your casts.”

Making his feature film debut, Bode came to play the character, who has used a wheelchair since birth. via an open call. “It was a big, intense search,” said the film’s director Jon M. Chu, who received Bode’s input late in the casting process.

“You have to find someone who is young, who can sing, who can act, who is a wheelchair user, and who has both the sweetness and the darkness of what is happening in our history. And no part of it had been compromised.”

Bode, who began using a wheelchair at age 11 after a car accident, saw “Wicked” on stage as a preteen when her mother surprised her with tickets to a touring production near her hometown of Mazomanie, Wis.

Like Nessa, Bode also moved on to college—a decision that initially worried her parents and older brother—and graduated from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in Los Angeles in 2021.

“I see a lot of myself in her, especially as someone who is disabled, going to college and finally feeling like you have that freedom for the first time,” said Bode, now 24 years old. “I had the same eagerness she has to want to be independent, make new friends and find your place in the world.”

Nessa occasionally asserts this autonomy in “Wicked.” In an early scene, she expresses her preference for maneuvering around Shiz University, where she has just been enrolled, unaided—a desire fully understood by her sister, if not their overbearing father or the campus staff.

That’s a change from the “Wizard of Oz”-inspired stage show, which has never cast an authentic wheelchair user in its 21-year run on Broadway or elsewhere. And it’s a result of the creative team’s honest conversations with real wheelchair users, including Tony-winning actress Ali Stroker.

“We really looked at that whole setup and worked hard to get it right,” said Winnie Holzman, who created the stage show with composer Stephen Schwartz and co-wrote the film’s script. “We knew how much it would mean to not only people who use wheelchairs, but to anyone who is differently abled, to see this.”

According to Chu, Marissa “transformed how we present Nessa in so many ways,” starting with her suggestion to model Nessa’s wheelchair design off the actor’s real-life wheelchair, to express the character’s physical self-sufficiency with ease.

“I needed to move as quickly and naturally as possible, because if I didn’t feel comfortable, that would probably transfer to the camera,” said Bode, who gave his input on facets such as making the seat recline slightly back and place his backpack on. the back of her chair. “If there was something they didn’t think of, they would just ask me what I loved. I was more than happy to fill in those blanks.”

Costume designer Paul Tazewell then “added the Munchkinland sensibility” to the wheelchair via detailed art nouveau carvings and a dark red velvet trim – a color incorporated into many of Nessa’s looks, referencing her late mother’s dress. (Also from her mother: Nessa’s silver slippers, with tornado-like swirls around the heels.)

“Marissa is absolutely beautiful, so the priority for me was to make sure the fit always looked as pristine as possible and that everything lay just right when she’s sitting,” said Tazewell, who outfitted Nessa in corseted Victorian silhouettes and very crafted textures throughout. film. “I wanted her to almost look like a beloved doll, with cream or white bottoms to emphasize her innocence.”

This is most evident during the song “Dancing Through Life,” when Nessa arrives at the Ozdust Ballroom in a knitted, red-trimmed dress with her adorable Munchkin classmate, Boq (Ethan Slater). At first, the two remain wallflowers.

“When he tells her she’s so beautiful, I wanted her to look like the biggest movie star ever,” said cinematographer Alice Brooks. “Suddenly, instead of being an awkward teenager, she just looks incredibly, magnificently beautiful.”

Nessa and Boq then join forces for a brief but jubilant dance break that ends up being one of the film’s most romantic scenes. “Jon made it very clear early on: this moment is about her feeling like she’s flying,” choreographer Christopher Scott said. “This is the happiest moment of her life and she needs to feel all the things she carries with her throughout her life, as we all do, just go away.”

Scott collaborated with wheelchair choreographer and dancer Hannah Raynor to create the sequence, which sees Boq swing Nessa around on the floor and dance on his knees while looking her in the eye. “We treated it like any other duet, and duets are always about connection, either face-to-face or touch or feeling each other’s energy,” Scott said.

Bode and Slater then learned the moves over a few weeks of practice and made changes as needed. “Hannah taught me that every wheelchair user’s range of motion is different, so we would just go move by move and feel it like we do with any dancer.”

For Bode, the dance sequence is both a crucial character development moment for Nessa and a celebration of disabled artists in general.

“Unfortunately, many of us do not grow up with education about disabled people and what they are capable of,” she said. “It’s great to show that we’re out here and not only can we play and sing, but we can also dance and move and train. Of course, all disabilities are different, so I can’t speak for every disability, but many disabled people can still do a lot.”

But it was not enough for the fictional world of “Wicked” to be wheelchair users, as conceived by production designer Nathan Crowley. The film’s access coordinator Chantelle Nassari also equipped Bode with a fully accessible trailer, double-checking the day’s roads and ensuring the actress had what she needed to perform. Admittedly, there was a learning curve for Chu and others in the production.

“I asked Marissa, you have to give us some grace, because we learned from a system that doesn’t accommodate (disability), and in trying to figure it out, we can make mistakes along the way,” the director said. “But we had an open conversation. I learned a lot from her, like when they’re doing mics, people would come up to her and grab her chair. It’s like, ‘That’s my body. Ask me if you want to touch my chair .’ “

Bode, who is biracial and queer, hopes to follow her feature debut with coming-of-age stories, horror projects and “more gay stuff,” she said with a laugh. “And I would love to work with more disabled creatives in the future.”

Chu shared the latter sentiment and offered advice for other productions looking to do the same. “You’re going to spend more money and time casting and digging harder around the world to find the right people because not everyone is represented and they don’t know these roles exist and yet are so talented,” he said.

“On set you have to think about things you don’t normally think about, ask questions and design accordingly. And you’re bound to make mistakes because there are things you just don’t know yet. It just takes you making it a priority to make it happen.”