Fiona Vroom Talks ‘Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies’ [Interview]

Actress Fiona Vroom is glad to have the chance to dance and sing again, after years of setting all that aside to focus on film and television. Now, her role on Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies has let her merge all of those skills together.

Vroom plays Tippy, the mother of one of Rydell’s most popular students, Susan. I recently had a chance to chat with Vroom about her role on the series and what it was like to film a prequel to the iconic film Grease.

“I sent in quite a hefty audition” Vroom began. “It was a scene from one of the episodes, and then had to put a dance reel together, and also had to sing a song. So it was a full musical theater audition.”

The chance to exercise those muscles again is part of what drew Vroom to want to be a part of the project. “That’s where my background lies. I did musical theater for 10 years, went to a performing arts college, and had been singing and dancing since I was really young. So for me, it’s super exciting that I get to put all my skills and talent to use.”

She was also a huge fan of the film, which made the opportunity even more exciting. “I was such a huge fan,” she said. “I’m extremely embarrassed to tell you that I used to come home from school and put on the movie, and I know it word for word. I know the dance steps. I know it word for word. I just absolutely love that movie so much.”

Vroom said she’s proud to be a part of this series because of the quality of work as well.

“Annabel Oakes and her team have done such a great job portraying these women, these young women’s voices, and men, and walking that fine line of it being in the 1950s and dealing with these issues of today, of today’s world. The writing is spectacular. So look forward to hearing all the good stories that are coming from a bunch of these beautiful characters, these deep, deep characters.”

Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies takes place four years prior to the events of the film, and as the title suggests, it reveals the origin of the iconic girl gang, the Pink Ladies.

“It’s really centered around a group of misfit students who want to change the way things are at their school. So they band together and they start this movement and become the Pink Ladies. And it’s about standing up for themselves. They’re all a little bit of outsiders, and they come together. And I think in the 1950s, that was a really brave thing to do,” Vroom explained.

“So the nostalgia around the ’50s, and it being this sort of shiny new world, recovering from the war, it was the land of opportunity,” she added.

“There were golden opportunities everywhere. But there was also this feeling of still being repressed, and I think for these young women to stand up for themselves and to start the Pink Ladies was huge. And I think that’s what made the first movie so successful as well, it was dealing with women’s issues and teenager issues set in this time where you weren’t allowed to talk about things like that.”

As for her character, Vroom said Tippy is “anything but basic.”

“She’s Susan’s mother. Susan is… I think she would be what you would call nowadays a mean girl in school. She’s popular, she’s liked, she’s probably head of the cheerleading squad, that girl in school,” she said. “Susan is not liked by the Pink Ladies, and during the season we get to know why she’s not liked a lot more through my character Tippy.”

“So it really, it stems from generational emotional inheritance. Tippy is head of the parent-teacher organization, she’s very involved in her daughter’s life. She will do anything to protect her and she will do anything in her power to make sure that Susan’s reputation stays intact.”

“On the surface, the hair and the makeup and the wardrobe and the accessories were so much fun to play in and get into character that way, because it really does add those layers of character, putting on the corsets and the crinolines and the earrings. So that was really fun,” Vroom continued.

“She’s layered with the feeling of having to present perfectly at all times. And women of that era had that pressure of really having to be perfect. And if one hair was out of place, your whole life can unravel. So it was really interesting to put on the makeup, put on the wardrobe, and keep it all bottled up. But on the inside she actually is a mess. My character is addicted to pills, and she’s really coming apart on all levels. So that was a really interesting line to walk.”

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Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies premieres Thursday, April 6th on Paramount+. 

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