Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies Star Ari Notartomaso Talks the Importance of All-Ages Queer Content (Exclusive)
Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies is hitting Paramount+ this month, and it tells the story of how the iconic girl gang from Grease formed. The series takes place five years before the beloved musical, but it features a lot more diversity than the original film. In fact, one of the main characters is a wannabe T-Bird named Cynthia, who is played by trans actor Ari Notartomaso. As their Instagram bio perfectly states, they are "not a girl, just play one on TV." In the new show, Cynthia struggles to fit in but begins to find her place once the Pink Ladies are formed. ComicBook.com recently had the chance to chat with Notartomaso, who opened up about the importance of all-ages queer content, and teased what's to come for Cynthia.
"As a young person, I didn't really have much access to people in the media. It was something... I grew up watching Orange is the New Black, which is not the most age-appropriate material for young people to be watching," Notartomaso explained. "But there is something really beautiful about being able to play a character that is in an age-appropriate musical. It's for kids of all ages, well, not all ages, but 14 and up. To be able to be a part of this story, it's really special." They added, "There's something that's so healing about it for me as a person, and I really hope that it resonates with young people."
As for whether or not Cynthia is content with being a Pink Lady, Notartomaso isn't sure if they will ever don the T-Bird jacket onscreen, but teases a promising queer storyline while Cynthia rocks the Pink Lady look.
"Well, I certainly want a T-Bird's jacket myself," Notartomaso explained. "They gave us the option of getting the merch of the Pink Lady jacket and the T-Bird's jacket, and we got one from The Drew Barrymore Show. We got a Pink Lady jacket, so I got myself a T-Bird's jacket," they shared. "I can't tell you either way, but I will say that the thing that makes Cynthia want a T-Bird's jacket, her queerness and the exploration of that is something that we do see in our show."
Stay tuned for more from our interviews with the cast of Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies, which debuts on April 6th.