Twenty-one years in, she’s the first disabled actor to play Elphaba’s sister, who uses a wheelchair, on Broadway.
In the second act of Wicked at the Gershwin Theatre on Broadway, Elphaba visits her sister, Nessarose, as a fugitive of Oz. When she learns that their father has died and left Nessa as mayor, Elphaba is happy. If her sister will speak to her constituents and defend her against false accusations that she uses her powers for evil, Elphaba says, they could join forces.
But Nessarose, a wheelchair user, cannot be persuaded. “All of my life I’ve depended on you, how do you think that feels? / All of my life, I’ve depended on you and this hideous chair with wheels,” she sings, reminding her sister that she is risking her life to save the animals of Oz but has never once used magic to help Nessa walk. That line has likely flown past many audience members over the past 21 years, but for theatergoers with disabilities, it speaks loudly, as Nessa blames her disability for her circumstances. It’s arguably the most ableist scene in a show that calls Nessa a “tragically beautiful” and dependent villain (eventually known as the Wicked Witch of the East).
Beginning March 4, Jenna Bainbridge becomes the first authentically disabled actor to play Nessarose on Broadway. She’s an ambulatory wheelchair user — that is, she walks or uses a wheelchair as needed, and does both in the show. (Marissa Bode, also disabled, played the part onscreen last year.) Although Bainbridge says nothing in the script has changed since she joined Wicked, her lived experience brings an honesty to Nessa that makes her desire to walk easier to understand. We asked her about her experiences that inform the part, both lived and onstage at the Gershwin.
How did you get cast as Nessarose?
I was doing Suffs, and [started] to get a feeling of, “I have to think about next steps. What do I want to do next? Is this show going to run forever?” So I reached out to my manager and was like, “Hey, here are some roles that are [casting] and some projects that are doing workshops that I think are open to casting a disabled actor. Wicked was top of my list, especially with the movie coming out — it was so moving and exciting for me to watch Marissa Bode as Nessa.
Have you talked to Marissa since you got the role?
Yeah, we’ve chatted a little bit on social media. She reached out to congratulate me, which was very sweet. I am just so honored to be in this club with her, our little disabled-Nessas club. She will always be the first.
You must have a lot of thoughts about being the first onstage, though.
Live onstage, you have so much intimacy with the audience, so I’m excited to have that experience. When someone makes history as the first person to do something in a community, there’s always that bit of excitement about history being made. And what I hope is that little kids with disabilities and grownups with disabilities can come and see the show and really feel included, really see themselves. I just hope that people are excited to see and include disabled bodies in a story that they know and love.
In the second Wicked movie, we’ll see a change to Nessa’s story to skirt the ableist undertones, especially the scene where Elphaba gives Nessa the ruby slippers and the ability to walk. Did your casting result in any changes within the play script?
We are doing the same show that has been done for 20 years, and it’s remaining intact.
A little exciting moment is that I will use my own personal wheelchair during curtain call for bows. Curtain calls are fast. And I do not sprint. That is not in my bag of walking tricks. So to use my wheelchair is great for me physically. It saves my body at a time when I’m already exhausted after the show. And I love the symbolism. too.
As you’re an ambulatory wheelchair user, what’s it like to perform the scene where Nessa walks? That dialogue, with no changes, has to feel less than ideal.
It’s a hard scene. It was written by a non-disabled person, was directed by a non-disabled person, was originally performed by non-disabled people. When I perform it, there is some language in there that we both know, from a disability-justice lens, is not ideal. I don’t really focus on that.
What I focus on is — for my own lived experience; I can’t speak for anybody else — there have absolutely been times when I have wished my life were different or that my abilities were different or that my disability were different. And times where I’ve thought my life would just be easier. When I’m acting in that scene, I focus on that feeling. Nessa’s disability isn’t the problem — that’s proven in the show. So actually, the story can be looked at as a celebration of the fact that your disability can just be one wonderful part of you.
What else do you bring to Nessa that a non-disabled actor can’t?
Nessa is described as tragically beautiful. Everyone talks about, “Oh, I’ll see how beautiful that girl is, and she’s like her father’s favorite.” I know what it feels like to enter a room and have everybody stare and think that, “Oh my gosh, what’s wrong with her?” I know that feeling, and that is something that is deeply a part of her character arc, but not everybody can relate to.
And even just little things like that — a boy asked her to dance. I still remember the first time that I danced in my wheelchair with a boy, and it was so exciting. I know that feeling. And also the feelings of you live in this magical world and you are being prevented from interacting with it because of ableism. That’s something that I don’t think a non-disabled person can even imagine.
I also love my wheelchair. It represents freedom for me. And so to play a character who has a more complicated relationship with her wheelchair is really interesting. And it’s broadened my horizons, but it’s been a fun acting challenge.
From your perspective, how is Nessa’s villain origin story often misunderstood?
Oftentimes non-disabled writers put disabled characters into two categories. There’s the character that needs to be saved and overcome their disability, and they do it through somebody else loving them. And the other trope is that their disability is something that they resent and it makes them evil.
What I love about Nessa is that she has a little bit of both, but she also has a hell of a lot of her own issues that aren’t related to disability — her relationship with her parents, with her sister, with school. She’s a fascinating person. And when I’m playing her, I think there’s just been systems and people that have failed her. She’s the daughter of the governor. She’s had all of the privilege and therefore was also never told no and she never learned how to be a better person regardless of her disability. There are moments where she’s really sweet and moments where she’s really sour, and I love the duality. She’s a deceptively difficult character to play.
Do you foresee casting opening up further for actors with disabilities?
There are so many ambulatory wheelchair users out there like me. So if your excuse is, “Oh, well, this character has to walk” — okay, there are wheelchair users who walk, or there are special effects, or body doubles, or there is creative staging.
I think about the Dream Ballet in Oklahoma! all the time. In the original production, the actor playing Laurie during the Dream Ballet was always replaced by a dancer. And then a dancer danced the role of Laurie for the number and then it returned the actor at the end. It’s a gorgeous moment and it’s the original staging. So there are no excuses.