For those unfamiliar with Wicked, they may be surprised to find out that director Jon M. Chu’s adaptation, split into two parts, is only technically a prequel to The Wizard of Oz for the first two-thirds of the story. Midway through Wicked: For Good, events begin to take place that align with the plot of the classic 1939 movie, which includes the sudden arrival of Kansas farmgirl Dorothy Gale via tornado/flying house.
[Editor’s note: The following contains very mild spoilers for Wicked: For Good.]
Wicked: For Good focuses primarily on the “real” story of the Wicked Witch of the West, or as her friends call her, Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), as well as Elphaba’s complicated friendship with fellow witch Glinda (Ariana Grande). Additionally, as For Good progresses, Dorothy’s companions on the Yellow Brick Road are introduced, albeit with a few surprising twists.
While we eventually get to see the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion in all their remixed glory, one big choice made by Chu is that all the scenes featuring Dorothy make a deliberate point of not showing her face. The character is only seen from behind, in extreme close-ups (like, say, on those shiny new shoes someone just gave her), or in silhouette.
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There was an actress cast in the role, though: Bethany Weaver, a British dancer, actor, and choreographer with credits on productions including Oklahoma! and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Her Instagram account doesn’t include any behind-the-scenes Wicked content, but presumably she was pretty tightly restricted from saying anything about the production prior to its premiere.
Dorothy gets slightly more of a spotlight in this movie than she does in the original stage production, though the way she’s framed allows for the illusion that this Dorothy could possibly be the one played by Judy Garland in the original film. This was part of Chu’s design, as the director told People that “I didn’t want to step on who you think Dorothy is in whatever story that you came into this with.”
You can see Weaver (her ankles, at least) in Wicked: For Good, now in theaters. However you might feel about Dorothy’s portrayal here, know it’s far more kind than what the Sphere did to Garland’s face for its version of The Wizard of Oz.
