LOS ANGELES, April 6 (UPI) -- The cast of Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies, premiering Thursday on Paramount+, said the prequel tackles social issues the stage show and movie could not address.
Marisa Davila, Cheyenne Wells, Tricia Fukuhara and Ari Notartomaso play the founding members of Rydell High's girl gang in 1954. Latina Olivia (Wells) faces discrimination for wearing the same dress as a White classmate.
"Latina women in general are very sexualized because of their bodies and their body shapes," Wells told UPI in a Zoom interview. "Because her outfit is tight and she's a little thicker, [teachers say] she's in the wrong but not the other person."
Racism impacts several characters in Rise of the Pink Ladies. Jane (Davila) is also half Puerto Rican, but her family emphasizes their Italian half to fit in.
Hazel (Shanel Bailey) is one of the only Black students at Rydell. While Hazel also copes with racism of the '50s, Bailey said she was happy Rise of the Pink Ladies shows there is more to Hazel than her struggle.