Wicked: For Good finally hits cinemas this Friday and ahead of its release, there’s been one major mystery for fans: who’s playing Dorothy? It’s been kept out of the marketing and there’s been plenty of speculation that Alisha Weir – who you might recognise from Matilda the Musical and Abigail – was playing the iconic Wizard of Oz character.
Fans of the musical will know that even though Dorothy plays a part, you don’t get to actually see her on stage. Whenever somebody interacts with Dorothy, they’re talking to somebody off-stage and during the most pivotal moment, you only get to see Dorothy’s silhouette. The same is true in Wicked: For Good as we never get to see Dorothy’s face (more on the reasons why in a bit) during the movie.
Now that Wicked: For Good has screened for critics and reviews are out there now, we can confirm that Dorothy is played by Bethany Weaver, marking her movie debut. (Technically, Wicked was her actual movie debut as we see Dorothy briefly at the start of the first movie.)
Who is Bethany Weaver?
Weaver is a British dancer, choreographer and actor who has previously choreographed Asmahan – Life and Music, which played at London’s Peacock Theatre earlier this summer, and also starred as part of the ensemble in the likes of Broken Wings and Oklahoma! The Musical.
Her casting in Wicked and Wicked: For Good had already been confirmed on her Spotlight page, but her role as Dorothy was kept a secret until the new movie had started screening. You’d have to look in the credits though because, as mentioned above, we never see her face in the movie.
Why don’t we see Dorothy’s face in Wicked: For Good?
Ahead of Wicked: For Good‘s release, director Jon M Chu outlined why the movie adaptation followed in the footsteps of the musical by keeping Dorothy largely hidden from the audience’s view.
“I didn’t want to step on who you think Dorothy is in whatever story that you came into this with,” he told People, adding that the new movie “is still Elphaba and Glinda’s journey, and [Dorothy] is a pawn in the middle of all of it”.
It’s a decision that met the approval of Cynthia Erivo. “I think that’s such a wonderful thing to do,” she said in a separate interview. “Because then everyone gets to keep the Dorothy that they know.”
Wicked: For Good is released in cinemas on 21 November.
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Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
