Bode isn’t the only one who wants Nessarose to be authentic. The production team put a lot of work into her character—especially her mobility devices. They made five wheelchairs for the movie. There’s a dance version, a stunt version, and a small version for flashbacks to when Nessarose was young. The small wheelchair even has brakes shaped like roses. “They’re geniuses,” says Bode. “Every single little detail just blows my mind.”
The movie also includes a wheelchair dance number that wasn’t in the stage show. But that wasn’t even Bode’s favorite part. For scenes where Nessarose flies, she worked with the stunt team. They suspended Bode and her wheelchair 20 feet in the air. “I’m a sucker for thrill!” Bode says.
Bode’s character will eventually have a house dropped on her. But the actress has had so much fun that it doesn’t bother her, she says. One scene she’s excited to see on the big screen: Nessarose in the magic silver slippers. (They’re ruby red in the 1939 movie.) “I keep joking with my friends, ‘Them’s my feet under the house . . . Those feet are famous!’” Bode says.