'Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies' Cast Interviews

Moviefone speaks with Marisa Davila and Cheyenne Isabel Wells about 'Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies.' "It takes place four years before the original."

Premiering on Paramount+ beginning April 6th is the new series 'Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies,' which is a prequel to the 1978 film ‘Grease.’

What is the plot of 'Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies?’

'Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies' is a new musical series that takes place four years before the events of the original “Grease.” In 1954, before rock ‘n’ roll ruled, before the T-Birds were the coolest in the school, four fed-up outcasts dare to have fun on their own terms, sparking a moral panic that will change Rydell High forever.

Grease

"Grease is the word."

PG1 hr 50 minJul 7th, 1978

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Who is in the cast of 'Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies?’

'Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies’ stars Marisa Davila as Jane, Cheyenne Isabel Wells as Olivia, Ari Notartomaso as Cynthia, Tricia Fukuhara as Nancy, Shanel Bailey as Hazel, Madison Thompson as Susan, Johnathan Nieves as Richie, Jason Schmidt as Buddy, Nicholas McDonough as Gil, Maxwell Whittington-Cooper as Wally and Jackie Hoffman as Asst. Principal McGee.

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Marisa Davila and Cheyenne Isabel Wells about their work on 'Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies,’ the legacy of the franchise, and bringing life to these new characters.

(L to R) Marisa Davila and Cheyenne Isabel Wells star in Paramount+'s 'Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies.'

You can read our full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Davila, Wells, Ari Notartomaso, Tricia Fukuhara, Jason Schmidt, Madison Thompson, Shanel Bailey, Maxwell Whittington-Cooper, Nicholas McDonough, as well as Executive Music Producer Justin Tranter and Choreographer/Director Jamal Sims.

Moviefone: To begin with, Marisa, can you tell us where on the ‘Grease’ franchise timeline this new series takes place?

Marisa Davila: ‘Rise of The Pink Ladies’ takes place in 1954. So it's four years before the original film. We've backed up a little bit, and this happens when the T-Birds weren't exactly ruling the school just yet. They're making their name and The Pink Ladies didn't exist. We're just a gang that hadn't been formed yet, so we see the origin story of everything.

Tricia Fukuhara as Nancy Nakagawa, Marisa Davila as Jane Facciano, Cheyenne Wells as Olivia Valdovinos and Ari Notartomaso as Cynthia Zdunowski in 'Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies' streaming on Paramount+.

(L to R) Tricia Fukuhara as Nancy Nakagawa, Marisa Davila as Jane Facciano, Cheyenne Wells as Olivia Valdovinos and Ari Notartomaso as Cynthia Zdunowski in 'Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies' streaming on Paramount+. Photo Credit: Eduardo Araquel/ Paramount+.

MF: Cheyenne, can you talk about how the Pink Ladies form?

Cheyenne Isabel Wells: I mean, I think our characters are all in different places. We are all kind of outcast. We're not finding our place at Rydell. There's a lot of cliques. Everybody has friends, but we are all just alone. So once we find each other, it's amazing. We're all so different, but we’re able to bring that all together and build this huge friendship that rules the school.

Marisa Davila as Jane Facciano in 'Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies' streaming on Paramount+. Photo Credit: Eduardo Araquel/ Paramount+.

MF: In the series, Rydell is having a school election and Jane is running for office. Marisa, what is Jane’s platform?

MD: Well, it's opposite of the incumbent for sure. There's something really stiff and old school about the traditional ways of going through how the school has handled different dynamics so far and certain events that they're trying to uphold. In doing so, they end up leaving people out in the process. Jane's like, "What? To heck with that." I think we do represent even more characters in the school that you might not get the chance to see, but can relate to our characters as well. We're a voice for the underdogs.

Madison Thompson as Susan, Charlotte Kavanagh as Rosemary, Ari Notartomaso as Cynthia Zdunowski, Cheyenne Wells as Olivia Valdovinos, Josette Halpert as Dot, Tricia Fukuhara as Nancy Nakagawa, Kallie Hu as Peg and Marisa Davila as Jane Facciano in 'Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies' streaming on Paramount+.

(L to R) Madison Thompson as Susan, Charlotte Kavanagh as Rosemary, Ari Notartomaso as Cynthia Zdunowski, Cheyenne Wells as Olivia Valdovinos, Josette Halpert as Dot, Tricia Fukuhara as Nancy Nakagawa, Kallie Hu as Peg and Marisa Davila as Jane Facciano in 'Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies' streaming on Paramount+. Photo Credit: Eduardo Araquel/ Paramount+.

MF: Cheyenne, can you talk about all the singing and dancing you do in this series? What was that experience like for you?

CIW: Oh, it's so much fun. I mean, we have Justin Tranter who wrote 30 original songs for the show, and they are all hits, every single one of them is amazing. Then Jamal Sims, who choreographed beautiful numbers that, literally, you can watch over and over again and find something new with a different character, or a different person. It's just cinematically beautiful.

(L to R) Marisa Davila as Jane Facciano and Jason Schmidt as Buddy in 'Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies' streaming on Paramount+. Photo Credit: Eduardo Araquel/ Paramount+.

MF: Finally, Marisa, can you talk about Jane’s relationship with Buddy?

MD: That's a funny question because when we meet her, she goes, "I know how this goes. You and I don't go together. And that's okay." She's trying to brace herself for that heartbreak. But I think that when he's actually, "No, we could." She's like, "What?" This is a version of myself I didn't know that I knew, and that I could be associated with something like that. Then the foot comes down and it's like, oh wow, this is a lot. A lot more than I was expecting and it's also not what signed up for. I mean, with both of the love interests we have It's hard to describe. I get all gushy when I'm talking about the boys. It's typical. What's so funny is I remember being like, "Wasn't I just talking to Buddy and now I’m talking to Richie?" I'm like, things move fast in high school. It was always moving very fast.