"High School Musical" star Vanessa Hudgens will be making use of her vocal chops once again when she stars as the provocative Betty Rizzo in Fox's live action performance of "Grease" this winter.
"Grease" is a 1971 musical by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey that was so successful that it was adapted into a 1978 American musical romantic comedy-drama film which starred John Travolta as Danny Zucko and Olivia Newton John as Sandy Olsson.
The musical follows the lives of ten working-class teenagers as they deal with peer pressure, politics, personal core values, and love - all set in the 1950s era of rock and roll.
For her role as Rizzo, Hudgens studied the film version of "Grease" and watched it repeatedly just so she can perfect the songs and delivery of lines.
"I feel like I know 'Grease' backwards and forwards," Hudgens told Entertainment Weekly at the 2015 Industry Dance Awards and Cancer Benefit Show in Hollywood. "It's just one of those iconic movies that I've seen over and over and over again."
Hudgens joined the cast of "Grease: Live" back in January and has been itching to make her mark as the iconic character.
"She's deep, you know," Hudges said of Rizzo. "She's a toughie. So I'm excited to kind of sink my teeth in to that. That's a character I've never played before so it'll be fun and a challenge."
Their version of "Grease: Live" will have Aaron Tveit play Danny Zucko, Julianne Hough play Sandy Dumbrowski, Carlos Pena Vega as Kenickie, and Keke Palmer as Marty. Other cast members are yet to be announced. "Grease: Live" will debut on January 31, 2016 on Fox.
It's a good thing that Hudgens is a huge fan of "Grease" and never tires of watching it, since she revealed, ""As we get closer there will be a bit more 'Grease're-watching going on!"
Hudgens' break-out role was that of Gabriella Montez in the Disney Channel movie "High School Musical." She co-starred in it together with real-life beau Zac Efron. But after the franchise wrapped up, the two also went their separate ways and Hudgens tried to build up her acting resume.
She appeared in the 2009 film "Bandslam," and also in "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island" alongside Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Josh Hutcherson.
She also appeared in the 2013 film "Spring Breakers" together with Selena Gomez and 2015 Broadway musical "Gigi."
