Dorothy’s pigtails and ruby slippers are iconic in “The Wizard of Oz.” But when it came to casting someone to play the character in “Wicked: For Good,” director Jon M. Chu wanted the rest of her to be as unrecognizable as possible.
Dorothy’s face is never shown in the movie — she’s only shot from far away, from the legs down, or in silhouette. So Chu decided that for the auditions, he didn’t want to see the performers’ faces.
“We would put a sheet up, looking at the performer’s silhouette,” Chu told Business Insider. “Through that, I was looking at how she could walk, but also, could I guide her in that way? The person had to have youthful energy.”
“We ultimately chose a dancer, Bethany Weaver,” Chu added.
Despite the plan to never show Dorothy’s face, Chu admitted that he questioned his choice throughout filming.
“We shot some things where you could see her face,” Chu said. “But every time, it was a distraction.”
Chu said whenever he was unsure about not showing Dorothy, he would remind himself that the story is ultimately about Elphaba and Glinda.
“So every time it drew us to, ‘What does Dorothy think?’ we reminded ourselves of that,” he said.
Though her face is never seen on screen, Weaver is grateful for landing the role.
“It’s been an honour to carry the legacy of the brilliant women before me who have stepped into these shoes and embarked on the yellow brick road,” she wrote in an Instagram post. “I hope I have made them proud.”
“Wicked: For Good” is now playing in theaters.
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