The upcoming Wicked movie has posted an open casting call for wheelchair-using actors to audition for the role of Nessarose. Nessa is the sister of Elphaba, the titular Wicked Witch of the West, and plays an important supporting role in the story. Wicked is an adaptation of the musical of the same name by Stephen Schwartz, itself an adaptation of the book of the same name by Gregory Maguire, which was inspired by the 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum and its subsequent 1939 film adaptation The Wizard of Oz. The original Broadway production won 3 Tony Awards and is currently Broadway's fifth longest-running show. The film adaptation is expected to start production in the summer of 2022 in the UK and will be produced by Marc Platt through Universal Pictures and directed by In The Heights director Jon M. Chu.
The story of Wicked follows Elphaba, a misunderstood sorcery student who befriends her initially cold roommate, Glinda, as they work together to change the Land of Oz for the better. Elphaba's increasingly erratic tactics eventually allow her to take up the title of the Wicked Witch of the West, setting up the events of The Wizard of Oz. The story also goes into the origins of The Wizard of Oz's most beloved characters, including the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion.
Now, with filming set to begin in the near future, Wicked is filling out its cast. According to The Telsey Office, Wicked is seeking wheelchair-using actors to audition for Nessarose. The announcement says they're looking for an actor with an excellent singing voice who uses a wheelchair, with both ambulatory and non-ambulatory users encouraged to audition, capable of playing a female between the ages of 18-30. The producers encourage hopefuls to email them an unlisted YouTube video telling them about themselves.
The film has already announced the casting of Tony winner Cynthia Erivo and Grammy winner Ariana Grande as Elphaba and Glinda, respectively. Erivo is already familiar to film audiences; she received an Oscar nomination for her performance as Harriet Tubman in 2019's Harriet. Grande is newer to acting but has dominated pop music for the past decade to become one of the best-selling artists of all time. The two will succeed the roles originated by Idina Menzel and Kristen Chenoweth, performances that led them to become icons in modern musical theater.
Movie musicals are in an interesting state currently, with critically lauded films like Tick, Tick...Boom! and In the Heights, along with Steven Spielberg's highly anticipated West Side Story remake, to counteract the failed Cats and Dear Evan Hansen adaptations. It shows that musicals are an art form all their own, and if they are to be adapted for the screen, the creatives behind it need to understand what makes each musical special. Luckily, Wicked seems to be heading in the right direction with Nessa, who also uses a wheelchair in the musical. With so many years in development hell, theater fans are more excited than ever to see what a Wicked movie can do.
Source: The Telsey Office
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