Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies is debuting on Paramount+ this week, and it tells the story of how the girl gang from Grease formed five years before the events of the iconic musical. While the first Grease film became a cultural phenomenon when it was released in 1978, its sequel didn’t receive the same reception. Grease 2 hit theatres in 1982 and despite launching the career of Michelle Pfeiffer, the movie became a flop at the box office after receiving poor reviews (it’s currently on Rotten Tomatoes with a 35% critics score). However, the sequel gained a cult following over time as folks began to appreciate its campiness. ComicBook.com recently spoke to many of the folks involved with Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies and asked their thoughts on Grease 2.
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“Love,” Cheyenne Isabel Wells (Olivia) simply replied when we asked her opinion on Grease 2. Marisa Davila (Jane) added, “I love Grease 2. I’m thinking about it. I love Grease 2 so much. Do you know what my favorite one of Grease 2? I’d love to know yours as well, is the bowling alley number. So fun.”
“Yes,” choreographer Jamal Sims replied when asked if there were any Grease 2 fans in the house. Songwriter Justin Tranter added, “I mean always. The campier and the more Michelle Pfeifferier you get, the better.” Sims added, “‘Cool Rider,’ please,” which is the iconic song performed by Pfeiffer in the film.
“Love it,” Jason Schmidt (Buddy) shared. “I think I’m an original Grease fan, but Grease 2 is camp and there’s no hate there,” Madison Thompson (Susan) added. “I saw it for the first time two days ago,” Shanel Bailey (Hazal) admitted. “I’m sorry, I’m late, but I will tell you this, it was a ride.”
When asked the same question, Ari Notartomaso (Cynthia) gave a big thumbs up and Tricia Fukuhara (Nancy) shared a fun story. “Yes. Thumbs up,” she began. “I’ll just give you a quick little thing. I actually did a production of Children of Eden with Adrian Zmed, so I’m a fan. He’s so sweet and wonderful and we were always, ‘So how did you do it? Tell us about the scene with the cigarette. How did you do it? How did it… Tell us again. Tell us again.’ So yes, big fan.”
Speaking of Zmed, his character from Grease 2, Johnny Nogerelli, felt like a possible inspiration for Gil, the new T-Bird played by Nicholas McDonough in Rise of the Pink Ladies. While speaking with McDonough, we asked if the sequel character ever came up. “Yeah. I think he’s an amalgamation of a couple of them,” McDonough explained. “I know when I spoke with Anabel Oaks, our showrunner and writer, like Kenickie is sort of the archetypal character that I’m loosely based on, and start off with. I think each of us have a character like that in the beginning and then as the season progresses we kind of wiggle into our own versions, which is exciting.”
You can check out a compilation video of the Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies stars talking about Grease 2 below:
Stay tuned for more from our interviews with the cast of Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies, which debuts on April 6th.
