The lead stars of Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies made an appearance at Deadline’s Contenders Television awards-season event to talk about their experiences on the musical.
Marisa Davila, who plays Jane Facciano in the Paramount+ series, said she might have been a little too young to have watched the 1978 film for the first time, but most of its themes were going over her head.
“Considering it’s a period piece, it really hasn’t gone too much out of style,” Davila said. “I’ve definitely known the music longer than I can even remember the first time I saw it.”
Davila added: “I don’t really know if you meet a lot of people that haven’t seen Grease these days. We’re just adding to the history of that universe and, I mean, what an honor. We’re just really grateful that this is a project that we get to be a part of.”
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Set in the 1950s, Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies takes place four years before the events of the film that starred John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. The prequel series cast a diverse group of women to give visibility to viewers, something Tricia Fukuhara mentioned.
She noted the diversity of the cast by recalling that when she was a little girl, she dreamed of playing the lead character in Annie. However, her father said that she would not be able to play her because Annie had red hair and was white.
Fukuhara added that her father suggested she play Molly instead and was able to make it happen.
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“I think that’s why we are also so honored and grateful to be here because I feel like growing up we never thought that we could be Pink Ladies or that the Pink Ladies could look like us, and here we are,” she said.
Cheyenne Isabel Wells added that the show is “beautiful” and wants the audience to “find their own character to follow within this whole series. There are so many storylines … so I’m excited for everyone to find their favorite and follow along.”
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Ari Notartomaso noted that each episode is like its own full-length movie musical, “which is pretty epic that we were able to do that in seven months.”
Check back Tuesday for the panel video.
Deadline Contenders Television is sponsored by Apple TV+, Coverfly, Eyepetizer, Final Draft, Los Siete Misterios, Michter’s, and Village Roadshow Entertainment. Partners include: Four Seasons Resort Maui, The American Pavilion, Julia Wong Designs and Pampring.
