‘Wicked' star to speak at Southern Connecticut State University commencement

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (WTNH) — A 'Wicked' star is set to speak at this year's Southern Connecticut State University commencement, the school announced Thursday.
Actress and disability advocate Marissa Bode plays Nessarose in Universal's 'Wicked' series, alongside Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, and Jonathan Bailey. She was the first wheelchair user to portray the character, marking a milestone in disability representation in Hollywood.
UConn celebrates commencement at Storrs campus
Bode has been acting since she was 8 years old and trained at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. She also serves as an ambassador for a nonprofit that empowers young women from diverse backgrounds, called Saving Our Daughters.
She's set to give the commencement speak at the university's undergraduate ceremony in the Total Mortgage Arena on May 22.
Former U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona will speak at the graduate ceremony later in the day.
Before his appointment to the Biden administration, Cardona was the commissioner of education in Connecticut and a former classroom teacher in Meriden.
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Lesser-Known Movie Facts You Might Not Know

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However, Cage turned down the role because he didn't want to play an ugly green ogre. In a 2013 interview with Today, he clarified what he meant by that when he turned down voicing the character, saying, "Truth is, I'm not afraid to be ugly in a movie.... When you're drawn, in a way it says more about how children are going to see you than anything else, and I so care about that." In All About Eve, Bette Davis as Margo Channing wears an off-the-shoulder silk cocktail dress in the party scene that is not only one of the most iconic dresses in film history, but has also become synonymous with Davis herself. Legendary costume designer Edith Head designed the dress; however, it was not meant to be off the shoulder — it was supposed to be a square neckline. The dress was made late and delivered to the set right before filming the scene. According to Head, she came to the studio to find Davis wearing a dress that "didn't fit at all... Someone had miscalculated, and the entire bodice and neckline were too big." Horrified, Head prepared to go tell the film's director that the dress was not ready, but Davis shrugged it off, pulled it down around her shoulders, and quipped, "Don't you like it better like this anyway?" As part of her contract, Glenn Close got to keep all her Cruella de Vil costumes from 101 Dalmatians and 102 Dalmatians. However, according to Close, when Disney "found out how expensive they were, they were unhappy that it was in my contract." Disney then offered to create replica outfits for her to take instead of the originals, but she said no. It's hard to imagine anyone other than Emma Thompson as the deliciously wicked Baroness in Cruella — her performance was pitch-perfect and effortlessly commanding. But surprisingly, she wasn't Disney's first pick for the role. The studio initially eyed Nicole Kidman to play the icy fashion designer. 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