marissa bode wicked nessarose witch for good actor polyesterzine polyester zine — Not many actors can say their feature film debut was in a $600 million grossing blockbuster with Cynthia Erivo playing their sister a mere year after graduating college. Marissa Bode can. There are levels to this, clearly: despite its twenty-year run on Broadway, the 25 years old actress made history last year as the first disabled person to play Nessarose in Jon Chu’s adaptation of the beloved *Wicked*.
“I know people audition their whole lives to land projects like [*Wicked*].” Bode explains over Zoom. “The fact that it happened so fast for me, someone who didn’t grow up with any ‘ins’ or privileges in that way… I’m of course so grateful, but at the same time, my brain loves to trick me into feeling like I don’t deserve this. “

Jon Chu clearly disagreed with this self-underestimation. The American Musical and Dramatic Academy alum auditioned for the role over Zoom, landing the part without ever meeting the Wicked casting directors in person. One moment she was posting a witchy Instagram post, oblivious to the way her life was about to change and the next, she was on set bringing to life a character oft maligned and misunderstood by directors who saw little value in trying to cast true to experience.

Meeting her makes clear why she was the one Chu chose to entrust this role to. Tenacious and warm, our chat over Zoom is marked by a moral clarity and earnestness that draws you in immediately. She knows what she believes, and who she is not. There is strength lurking behind that girlish smile of hers, and it is the strength she lends Nessa onscreen that makes the character so hard to ignore.

Having begged her parents to go see the show as it was touring, Bode was 11 when she first encountered the character that would one day change her life. “That was my first time ever seeing a character in a wheelchair onstage. It was a flawed production, but it gave me permission. I didn’t realise that being an actor in a wheelchair was an option I had.” It was a fated viewing.

A decade and a bit later, she is the one receiving messages from all over the world from those her performance has emboldened and encouraged.

“It’s been overwhelming,” Bode tells me. “I’m glad it's given me a platform and a chance to amplify what I believe in and by extension (amplify) other marginalised communities.”

Part of what made that production of Wicked she saw as a girl ‘flawed’ was the original story’s presentation of Nessa as a beautifully tragic figure, her disability an ailment in need of ‘cure’ and ‘fixing’; it goes without saying that this new interpretation of the character Bode has crafted is less dedicated to dehumanising her and more intent on understanding how her loneliness affects her relationships. Bode illuminates, “The second film does a great job of making changes so it’s not just Nessa wants to be fixed, Wicked: For Good is making [the narrative] more about something I think everyone can relate to, which is wanting to be loved and being given autonomy and being seen as someone with autonomy.”

To live as an able-bodied person is to live in a world that revolves and caters to you entirely. It is a privilege that manifests as simply as being able to get around a city without ever having to consider how accessible the travel routes are or never worrying about whether a taxi service will be willing to do their job once you’ve called for them and pick you up.

“I’m okay with not having everyone on my side; in fact, sometimes I prefer it that way. I love this career and I love my job, but all around the world people are being oppressed.”

“Often times with Uber drivers, as soon as they see me, they cancel the ride. A few weeks ago when I was coming back from the airport with my partner who is also disabled, we ordered an Uber XL...there was plenty of room for our chairs, but as soon as someone sees the chair, they immediately just assume that it’s not possible. It’s a thing of people making assumptions and panicking at the sight of any mobility device.”

It’s a level of privilege as obvious on film sets as it is anywhere else in the world. Ignorance is only harmful when it is chosen and shielded instead of dispelled, and thankfully in Bode’s experience, her Wicked cast and crew members were eager to unlearn the inherent biases that come with never having to worry about how you’re going to get around on a daily basis.

“Wicked really did do a good job...they made sure I had the same equity as my non-disabled peers. They focused on the fact that I got accommodations so that I could be equal.” Bode notes. “They hired a disability advisor who was also disabled which gave them a full view of what to make accessible and what to look out for. Jon was great at asking if I needed anything accessibility wise and checking in on me. I do think Wicked should in the way they handled accessibility while filming set precedent for future productions.”

Dress: Harbison | Earrings: 8 Other Reasons | Ring: Vintage (Stylists Own) | Shoes: Charles & Keith

The film’s success has the capacity to set a precedent in many ways - the movie musical, for one, has never had better PR; we all spent the better part of a year singing Defying Gravity; the theatre kids are up. Bode has also been very vocal about the queerness of this adaptation; in a now viral TikTok, the actor listed off the sexuality of every character (to quote her, “Glinda is a lesbian, Elphaba is bisexual, Nessarose is bisexual, Fiyero is bisexual, Boq is questioning but queer in some way, Doctor Dillamond...gay”) marking the film as conically queer.

It is the first time a member of a Wicked cast has vocalised and legitimised the queer subtext that is evident even in the original text; recurrently being the first and expected to advocate can be burdening and often isolating. Bode seems to have taken to it all with grace however. Sincere and passionate, every answer is an opportunity in her hands to encourage a reflection on how the industry has systemically maligned artists with disabilities through their exclusionary practices.

“I was afraid of saying too much to the point of being blacklisted or shunned but at the end of the day, I want to be for the people. That’s something I can go to sleep feeling good about…that’s the most important thing to me.” She continues. “It's okay to not be for everybody. I’m okay with not having everyone on my side; in fact, sometimes I prefer it that way. I love this career and I love my job, but all around the world people are being oppressed. That isn’t something I’m going to ignore over a cheque.”

Marissa has proven this to be true over and over, advocating loudly for an end to the genocide Israel is perpetuating against Palestinians on her social media platforms despite reports of an industry blacklist, calling into question calls for ‘sympathy’ following the killing of Charlie Kirk, the right wing Conservative commentator who once claimed the passing of the Civil Rights Act was a ‘huge mistake’ and condemning the ableism she saw pop up in the discourse surrounding the film.

In the midst of a collectivised cultural spinelessness, it is a relief to see a talent as clear eyed as Marissa come to the fore. As she looks beyond Wicked and to the rest of her career, her wish is simple: “I just would love to be cast in a role that doesn't focus primarily on my disability. Where I get to be in a space with my disabled peers and the disability isn’t the main focus all the time.” May more leading ladies like her rise; the world would be better for it.

Marissa Bode on Getting Cast in a Blockbuster, Advocating For Her Beliefs and Why Wicked is Queer

“I’m okay with not having everyone on my side; in fact, sometimes I prefer it that way. I love this career and I love my job, but all around the world people are being oppressed.”

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