Wicked movie’s Ethan Slater on the Ozdust Ballroom: ‘It’s just the beginning’

It’s funny how a movie as big as Wicked could feel intimate. With its fantastical landscapes; Munchkinland pathed with nine million tulips, the art deco towering skyline of the Emerald City, and the curved architecture of Shiz University that holds wisdom, power, and knowledge, the world of Oz has truly opened up in the big screen adaptation.

Now, we’re being let in to explore, and it’s something that the cast are excited to let happen. “We’re slowly letting people in,” says Ethan Slater, the Tony Award nominee who plays Boq in the two-parter. “It has felt like this really intimate thing, and we’ve all become really close as we spent a long time making it… I can’t wait for people to meet the whole world.”

Wicked has been a long time coming – there has been a change of directors which led Jon M Chu to the project, who then made the decision to split the adaptation into two movies, before disruption from the 2023 SAG-AFTRA Strike.

“I’m so proud to be a part of this,” Slater continues, “It’s just a really funny thing, that I got to see all of this happen and come together.” He laughs that he enjoys spotting his character, a Munchkinlander boy who befriends Elphaba (played by Cynthia Erivo) and Glinda (Ariana Grande) while studying at Shiz, just out of frame or in the background of a scene.

“I think that what I love about Boq is that he’s looking for his place. He’s looking for community, and I think I do really understand his best of intentions.” Slater says about his character. We’re only just seeing the start of his story, which revolves around his relationship with Elphaba’s younger sister, Nessarose (Marissa Bode).

“I think something that I’m coming to realise is that even in these moments when he has good intentions and a lot of love and care for his friend Nessa, sometimes those intentions aren’t quite enough. And so, yeah, I think that’s something I’ve learned from him… but it still feels like we’re trickling our story in, you know, a little by little.”

@whatsonstage

We could all learn a lot from these characters 🥹 #Wicked #WickedMovie #EthanSlater #MarissaBode @Wicked Movie

♬ original sound – WhatsOnStage

Slater and Bode pinpoint “Dancing Through Life” as a pivotal point, both in the story and in their personal experiences filming. It takes place as new classmate Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) shows the university students the hottest place in town, the Ozdust Ballroom, where Boq is encouraged to invite Nessa to dance.

“Oh my God, I remember how hard we worked to choreograph the dance and to make sure that it was like coming from our characters.” He says, “Christopher Scott and his team were so amazing in helping us develop that.”

In the film, the scene reduces to just the two of them in a moment of pure joy.

“I think for Boq and Nessa, it’s kind of exciting because we’re letting people into our journey. And it’s just the beginning, which is a pretty exciting thing. It feels like you’re just getting to meet us now.”