‘Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies’ Casting Directors Wanted Stockard Channing’s Rizzo to Be the ‘Essence’ of New Cast

variety.com:

McKinley Franklin author “Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies” might not spotlight characters from the original 1978 film like Didi Conn’s Frenchy or Stockard Channing’s Rizzo, but it does set the stage for their impending reign on Rydell High.

Though tampering with any reiteration of the cultural cornerstone that is “Grease” has proven unsuccessful in the past, showrunner Annabel Oakes was clearly up for the challenge.

So, how does one begin to cast the characters for a prequel television series based on the beloved movie? Casting directors Leigh Ann Smith and Conrad Woolfe of Indigo Casting accredit showrunner Oakes’ clear vision. “[Oakes] had lived in that world with these characters for so long,” Smith tells Variety.

Adds Woolfe, “We didn’t necessarily feel pressure [casting these characters] because Oakes had done such an incredible job of expanding the universe in her imagination before we even came to the table to do the casting.” “Pink Ladies” stars Marisa Davila as Jane, the geeky creator of the group; Ari Notartomaso as Cynthia, who really just wants to join the T-Birds; Cheyenne Isabel Wells as Olivia, whose image has been tarnished after hooking up with a teacher last year; and Tricia Fukuhara as Nancy, a boy-hating fashionista.