Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies

There's a lot to be said for "Grease: The Rise of the Pink Ladies". First off, revisiting the characters of Rydell High is just a fun concept. I'm all about meeting the original T-Birds and their female counterparts. Junior high schoolers Frenchy and Rizzo are delightful.

Let's be real, the show is cheese. But if you're watching this, you should be okay with that. While the racial diversity, lack of smoking, music, and plot scenarios aren't exactly period, the cast is so talented and joyous to watch. The scenic design and costumes are really breathtaking and the choreography is quite reminiscent of the original film. It's just plain FUN.

It's a fun kiddie ride that is a refreshing change from much of the intense content that is so popular right now. Let's root for Rydell!

I grew up obsessed with the OG Grease. With the hindsight of adulthood, one realizes the limitations of the original. And although this has its own missteps, anyone who appreciates a fresh approach will love the feminist slant, albeit from a burgeoning sense of new identity. Some of the songs can be a tad clunky, but others (like I Want More in the second episode) are powerhouses. Most of the main characters have decent depth to them and hint at more to come. And the easter eggs are a delight to old school fans who cherish their trips down memory lane with a bit of bite. Although it's not Oscar fare, I'm definitely looking forward to this season and how their stories unfold at Rydell.

I read some of the reviews and was surprised by how many people didn't like the show, till I read their reviews and went "oooh yeah, of course they wouldn't like it" it's progressive. One of the comments mentioned history and how this series isn't realistic. Another comment noted that the movies were also not realistic (Hopelessly devoted and flying cars), all of them are fantasy. That said, this show reminds us of the inequalities like men cheating at elections and male teachers taking advantage of students. All very real things that were more 'in your face' in the 50's but still happen today. But what I've never seen before was a butch/non-binary looking girl be shown so realistically. They suffer the same desire and confusion around their relationship as their other straight classmates (male and female). It's SUPER important to see this because it reveals the truth, that we ALL have to navigate relationships and how special 'in love' 'in lust' ones really are in ALL of our developments, normally starting in high school. I would have had a poster of this show in my locker. I love it.

This show isn't meant to be a remake of the movie. But some of these bad reviews seem to have forgotten what the original movie was really like. It was made in the 70s. Olivia Newton-John was a 30-something playing a high school student and was obviously not one. They tackled social issues like Russo being slut-shamed and being worried about being pregnant. It came down hard on both the Socs and the gangs. It had songs that were not 50s style ("Hopelessly Devoted" anyone?). It had a flying car at the end and an entire cartoon scene during "Greased Lightning". Plus it was based on a popular Broadway play. So get over yourselves.

This show is cute and fun. It definitely has some more pop/50s style songs. Yes, it reflects actually more 50s realistic social issues like women seen as unfit to lead and Black people rarely appreciated for who they really are. That is not fantasy. That's realistic. Idk why anyone thinks that's not how the past was. It's socially conscious and yet fun. I enjoy the Pink Ladies and the shenanigans they get up to while trying to make their points and make Rydell fun for all.

"Too much singing" Hello! It's a musical! What were you expecting! And the 5 songs in the first episode were all under 3 minutes... Heavens! 12 minutes of singing in the entire 60 minute run time! The only song reused from the original was "Grease is the word." And the lyrics were not changed so I have no idea what that person was talking about. The story had parallels to the original but completely stood on its own. People crying that it's nothing like the original or is a sad pathetic mockery... No one claimed it was a remake, it's an origin story NOT a prequel! There's a few characters sprinkled in it and let's remember, this is before they became who they are. Sure this isn't perfect but sorry neither was the original grease (not trying to rag on the original Grease, it was my childhood and it will always have a special place in my heart.) However it's totally over watched and over done as a live performance and I personally can only watch it like every 10 years now. So it's nice to have a fresh take on it that still makes you feel nostalgic to the original! If you like musical theatre, you'll like this! And if you're that upset about it go watch the original! There's space for both! And yes there's even enough room for Grease 2 <3.