MAZOMANIE, Wis. (WMTV) - Wisconsin native Marissa Bode will be the first actress living with a disability to portray Nessarose in the film adaptation of Wicked on the big screen in November.
From Mazomanie to “Wizomania”, the Wisconsin Heights High School alum will make her feature film acting debut when Wicked hits theaters this Thanksgiving weekend.
Bode returned to Wisconsin for a reception with her family, friends and the town that she said left a hand print on her heart at Base Camp Café on Sunday.
Bode plays the Wicked Witch of the West’s, or Elphaba’s, sister. The character is living with a disability and uses a wheelchair. According to Bode, every actress who has portrayed Nessarose on Broadway was able-bodied. Bode will be the first actress who is actually disabled to play this character.
“I think that’s so important to bring that in to that role and just have that representation,” Bode said. “I am just so incredibly honored to be the first one who’s authentically in a wheelchair to play this part because, not even just for myself, but that’s going to mean so much to other little girls and boys in wheelchairs and to have that representation for them to see, and that authenticity.”
A car crash paralyzed Bode from the waist down when she was 11 years old but did not stop her from acting in community theater, school plays and eventually major motion pictures.
She said casting someone who actually uses a wheelchair elevates the story of Wicked, a plot that’s about feeling different or left out. ”Honestly it’s been something that heals my inner child a little bit, since becoming disabled,” she said. ”Just remembering that younger girl that didn’t necessarily have that authenticity growing up. So, to have that and little Marissa being able to know where I am now.”
Bode now lives in Los Angeles after graduating college from The American Musical and Dramatic Academy. Now she’s auditioning with the likes of Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. The two leading actresses surprised Bode during the audition process with the film’s director John Chu.
”He opens the door and it’s Ariana and Cynthia with a sign that says, welcome to Oz! Will you be our Nessarose? “ Bode said. “And I’m just like staring at the screen like processing.”
Bode’s high school music and theater director Aniela Haas said she couldn’t be prouder.
”I couldn’t be happier!” she said. ”I’ll never forget, I was in my living room and I just screamed! My husband goes, ‘What’s wrong?’ and I screamed, ‘Marissa is going to be Nessarose!’ and my husband was like, ‘What?’”
Haas remembered how the car crash changed Bode, but never stopped her from acting, despite the fact that their stage did not have a ramp and wasn’t accessible. ”It was just a learning experience for the both of us really,” she said. “She would patiently wait for somebody to help her get down on the lift and patiently wait for someone to get her up into the lift.”
Bode hopes her performance in Wicked helps other feel unlimited.
”You’re life is not over when you become disabled at all. There is so much more out there for you,” she said. “I would say the world can be scary, following what you love is very scary, especially in a competitive field, but don’t give that up! Even if it’s on a small scale, continue doing that and you never know what might happen!”
Thanks to movie magic, Bode defies gravity in the Wicked trailer and can be seen flying through the air.
“Wicked: Part One” comes out on November 27, 2024.
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