Pink Lady Gets Origin Story In Paramount+ Series

Four years before Frenchy, Rizzo and Sandy donned their pink jackets, a group of friends at Rydell High leaned on their “bad girl” image, called themselves the Pink Ladies and created a girl gang. Their formation is documented in the new 10-episode musical ” Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies ” Now playing on Paramount+.

The year is 1954, and freshman Jane Facciano (Marisa Davila) is suddenly an outcast after being labeled “relaxed” by the Rydell High quarterback. Jane ends up bonding with several other teenage girls (played by Cheyenne Isabel Wells, Ali Nota Tommaso, and Tricia Fukuhara) who are trying to fit in in their own ways.

The theme of someone looking for you runs throughout “Grease,” says creator Annabelle Oakes.

“When you say Pink Ladies and T-Birds, you think, ‘Oh, those are the cool kids in school.’ But when you watch the movie, Rizzo is cool, Kenickie is cool.” John Travolta Danny Zucco is cool. Jane isn’t cool. The French aren’t cool. Sonny (and) Doody, not cool at all. They’re these cute weirdos who banded together through high school. I like to say that A story about friendship.”

“Rise of the Pink Ladies” hits the ground running with 30 original songs and a cover of “Grease,” Frankie Valli’s beloved song for the 1978 film (Barry Lyrics by Barry Gibb).

The “Pink Ladies” song is written by hit singer Justin Tranter, who has collaborated with Who’s Who artists. He helped write songs such as Justin Bieber’s “Sorry,” Imagine Dragons’ “Believer,” and DNCE’s “Cake by the Ocean.”

“The first thing I got into music was movie musicals, whether it was ‘Grease,’ ‘Annie,’ or ‘The Little Mermaid,'” says Tranter. “When I read the script, I fought really hard for the job.”

Oakes and the writers — with Tranter’s participation — decide where to insert musical numbers in the episode.

“There’s always this rule that when feelings are too big to express, you just sing them,” Oakes said. “It’s really natural to find a point in a script where someone needs to sing.”

Still, there were times when Trant felt a musical opportunity was missing. He recalls that while the cast was filming Episode 10, he was thinking that Episode 2 could benefit from an extra song.

“The song ‘I Want More’ (episode two) was the last song we wrote (for season one),” he explained. “When the episode is done, it’s done. . . I’ve seen the rough cut. Jane (played by Davila) is so devastated, she learns that she might not be able to apply to college. It’s a devastating moment. And then I When I got the call that we could add a song to Episode 2, I was like, “She’s just singing right there. “That collaboration never ends in a musical.”

Jamal Sims devised the choreography for the series. Sims created the dance moves for “Encanto,” the 2019 live-action “Aladdin” and the first three “Step Up” films. As the dialogue and scenes changed during the writing process, so did the music and action. Tranters and Sims have mastered their own means of direct communication to get the job done.

“There were a lot of stops and starts,” Sims recalled finding their rhythm. “And then all of a sudden, Justin and I jumped on the phone. We were like, ‘Let’s talk to each other.'”

Once they talk directly and “reach a consensus, everything opens up,” Sims said. “That’s how we made it work.”

In addition to “Pink Lady,” Oakes hopes to create a “Grease” movie universe very similar to the MCU, but centered on Rydell High.

“My husband loves ‘Star Wars’ and I see how much joy he gets out of that universe and how they provide all this depth and context and different worlds. I’ve always wanted a movie universe that spoke to me, I can really get in,” she said. “Our show has 20 ensemble dancers who are all actors with their own unique characters and things in the background. We have a future and a story for all of these people and I can’t wait to tell them.”