By Jason Green
Welcomed by the sound of cheers and applause from a large audience, Marissa Bode wheeled her way to the center of Long Beach State’s University Student Union Ballroom Stage in her wheelchair to share her journey into “Wicked” and being a disabled individual.
Bode, 24, skyrocketed in popularity after acting in her first major role as Nessarose Thropp in the 2024 Broadway movie adaptation of “Wicked.”
Nessarose is the little sister of Elphaba, played by Cynthia Erivo, who has a physical disability that requires her to use a wheelchair.
Through this role, the Wisconsin native set a precedent as the first actor to use a wheelchair in real life to portray the character.
Bode became paralyzed from the waist down at 11-years-old after a car accident, but she has been in musicals since she was young.
One year after graduating from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in 2021, Bode auditioned for the role of Nessarose.
“[I’ve] never been more anxious in my life,” Bode said, while describing the callback process for “Wicked” at the Q&A with Long Beach Disability Pride founder, voice of Dahlia in “Wish” and communication studies major Jennifer Kumiyama.
After not hearing back for a couple of days, Bode said she wanted to distract herself by making a self-made short film that was incidentally called “Witches.”
Two days after posting the short film on Instagram, she got a callback from “Wicked” casting.
“Did I accidentally create a spell or something?” Bode said, laughing along with attendees.
Throughout the callback process, Bode recounts an experience where she was on a Zoom call with “Wicked” Director Jon M. Chu regarding casting when he said someone was at his door.
“He shows me – he opens the door and it’s Ariana and Cynthia, and they have a sign that says, ‘Welcome to Oz. Will you be our Nessarose?’” Bode said.
As Bode recalled the memory, the crowd reacted in a chorus of “awws.”
ASL and real-time captioning were provided throughout the moderated Q&A session during Marissa Bode’s visit to CSULB on April 16 to discuss advocacy for disability representation in the media. Photo credit: Lauren Benson
Not only was Bode warmly welcomed to “Wicked,” the environment and set was accessible for her as well.
She describes that during filming, there was a disability advisor for the cast and set. For her, communication seemed easy, as the crew would ask questions when needed and were available for her questions.
Bode recalled the scene in the film where she is flown up into the air with her wheelchair. Though the crew worried that Bode would be anxious, she said it was hard for her to take the scene seriously, as she enjoyed being in the air.
“I really didn’t have to do much in terms of my own accessibility because it was just already there,” Bode said. “Which I think should be standard not only on set but just everywhere else, like in the workforce and everyday life.”
Following the Q&A, the Bob Murphy Access Center provided an area for attendees to meet, ask questions and take photos with “Wicked” actress Marissa Bode. Photo credit: Lauren Benson
Historically, disabled people have been heavily discriminated against or underrepresented, whether that be in the workplace or everyday life.
In 2023, Disability Scoop reported that while disabled people make up 26% of the population, 12.2% are leads on broadcast shows.
Even Bode mentioned that some people were surprised or confused to discover that she is disabled in real life. However, she is not surprised by this as she noticed a lack of disabled representation.
“I know I speak for a lot of disabled people when I say we’re advocates, not necessarily because we want to, but because we basically have to because things just aren’t as accessible as they should be,” she said.
To Bode, access could include having a ramp for wheelchair users or installing an elevator. She extends the usefulness of accessibility beyond disability, as Bode said accessibility could help film crews transport sets with more ease.
What Bode admires about the “Wicked” movie is that Nessarose’s disability is portrayed as not something to loathe over. Bode said that people presume those with a disability hate themselves, which she does not believe to be true.
Despite gaining immense fame, Bode said that people still look at her wheelchair and feel bad.
“Disability and happiness do intersect,” Bode said. “It’s still interesting to me how people don’t necessarily always make that connection.”
She attributes this mentality to a lack of education.
Spoiler alert, because of not wanting to portray disability as something that needs “fixing,” the sequel, “Wicked: For Good” plans to scrap the iconic scene where Nessarose gains the ability to walk.
The replacement for the scene has not been announced.
During her visit to CSULB on April 21, Marissa Bode met and signed memorabilia from the film that attendees had brought. Photo credit: Lauren Benson
Following the Q&A session, many attendees paced quickly to line up for a photo with the “Wicked” star.
For Kumiyama, she said that as a wheelchair user, meeting Bode was a really great experience.
“I think ‘Wicked’ definitely advocates for anyone that is different,” she said.
Kumiyama is a trailblazer in her own right; in 2002, she made history as the first actress to use a wheelchair on any Disney stage, where she performed in “Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular.”
Others, like Jessica King, a creative writing and comparative literature major at Long Beach State, said they found Bode’s presence to symbolize a positive impact at the university.
“Having this representation not only in the entertainment industry, but on our campus at CSULB, it’s necessary to empower disabled students and the disabled community as a whole,” King said.
