Marissa Bode who made her screen debut in the movie adaptation of the hit Broadway musical recalled filming the musical number Dancing Through Life with Ethan Slater’s Boq and her “epic” fall from her wheelchair. “I did fall backward one of the times,” she told Entertainment Weekly. “It was really epic. It was really quiet,” she added.
Although Bode was “laughing a lot” over the accident, the Wicked cast and crew were concerned. Her co-star and scene partner Slater shared his point of view on the fiasco. “When anyone falls, it’s the most terrifying thing,” he said.
The actor shared that the crew felt Bode’s laugh was somewhat “disconcerting” which made them even more scared. “We were like, ‘That’s got to mean that it’s bad,'” Slater added. As for Bode, she loves scenes that have a thrilling kick to them. One of them was when Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba accidentally made her wheelchair fly.
Although her character was supposed to be scared in the situation, Bode couldn’t help but enjoy the thrill and as soon the camera would cut she’d request for another shot. “After just freaking out in the air, I was like, ‘Let’s run it back. Let’s go again.’ It was so much fun.”
Despite the hindrances, Slater and Bode managed to execute the musical and choreography flawlessly.
The Redheads Anonymous actor admitted to the outlet that he’s grateful to have gotten the time to rehearse and understand her character’s movements. “Learning choreography is always a scary, challenging thing,” he said. Therefore, he’s glad that they got to rehearse to make it look as natural as possible.
“We had some time to work together and learn about our characters through the movement. It informed the rest of the movie in a lot of ways,” Slater added. The scene also plays a crucial role in establishing Boq and Nessa’s true feelings for each other. Slater agrees that it was a pivotal point in the movie regarding their friendship.
The Ariana Grande, Cynthia Ervio, and Johnathan Bailey starrer Wicked musical is currently in theaters.
