Lydia is a recurring character in the Paramount+ original series, Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies. She is portrayed by Niamh Wilson.
Biography[]
Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies[]
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In "So This Is Rydell?", Cynthia arrived at the theater where the thespians warmed up in eccentric dances and warm-ups. She tried to pass out "vote pink" pins, but Lydia scolded her for soliciting in the theater, until Mr. Vaughan greeted Cynthia. He gave Cynthia a scenario to act out - a Martian who discovered a chair for the first time. She gave an on-the-nose performance that disappointed the thespians. They did a Meisner exercise in which Lydia and Cynthia were paired together. Lydia called her scared, but Cynthia couldn't repeat the sentiment or own up to her fear. Mr. Vaughan praised Lydia for making her classmate uncomfortable.
The next day, Cynthia redid her skit for the thespians and approached the chair with fear, and curiosity, beeped, and then sat next to it. She rested her head on the chair and closed her eyes. The thespians and Mr. Vaughan clapped while he praised her. The students shared their praise on the way out, while Lydia sarcastically clapped. Cynthia gave her the middle finger with a “boop” sound and then skipped out of the room.
In "If You Can't Be an Athlete, Be an Athletic Supporter", the Thespians arrived at the gymnasium where McGee gave Mr. Vaughan pamphlets for a new play. He was no longer permitted to do his production of Bertolt Brecht's play, “Mother Courage”, because of The Pink Ladies' actions being too rebellious. They now had to perform “Romeo and Juliet”. Cynthia tried to cheer up her peers as some of the roles didn't seem bad but learned that everyone already knew who they would play. Lydia as Juliet, Arthur as Romeo, and Floyd as Mercutio, while the rest would be peasants.
The next day, the Thespians warmed up and Lydia confronted Alice about putting her name down for Juliet, and Geraldine revealed Cynthia helped them prepare. Everyone watched the auditions and Lydia smirked at the failure of her classmates. Lydia was flustered in her audition and Cynthia crossed her legs happily and then auditioned perfectly for Mercutio.
They waited anxiously while Mr. Vaughan pinned up the cast announcement. They learned they didn't get the roles they wanted, including Lydia, who was cast as the nurse. Cynthia was cast as Juliet and Lydia once again corrected her pronunciation of Mercutio, while Mr. Vaughan lauded himself for casting a tomboy Juliet and maimed Romeo. Cynthia looked across the room at Lydia, who walked off upset.
In "You Can't Just Walk Out of a Drive-In", Cynthia and Buddy painfully acted out a scene together, which made everyone wince. It was painful for Lydia to watch and she wanted them to fail. Floyd wanted them to get to the point where they died. Mr. Vaughan interrupted because while Buddy was fantastic, Cynthia made him feel like he made a mistake. But he did not make mistakes and his muse merely challenged him. He partnered her with Lydia and forced their allegiance. Lydia told her she was on her own, which was fine with Cynthia. Lydia couldn't wait to see her perform in front of the rows of chairs.
Lydia attends the Socs Halloween party and walks into the kitchen where she finds Cynthia. She instantly knew it was Cynthia in the ant costume, as she studied her gate. Cynthia stopped her from leaving as she needed her help with the play. If she blew this they all looked bad. They started and Lydia realized the line before the kiss was where Cynthia messed up because she was nervous. Lydia assured her stage kisses were meaningless and offered to show her. They delivered their lines and Lydia kissed Cynthia. The kiss led into their song “Merely Players” where they realized their feelings for one another, and how the things they felt weren't new but also hadn't been explored before. Their feelings were good, but they believed it shouldn't feel that way. They related to the truth in the lie of acting. They moved through scenarios - ran from aliens, danced in a 1940s-themed city, and became cowboys in a desert. They kissed in the desert which ended their song, and they were back in the kitchen. Cynthia finally understood acting and, wide-eyed, asked if this meant she was a thespian.
The next day, Cynthia and Buddy rehearsed Romeo & Juliet and she performed flawlessly compared to her last attempt. She cut him off before the kiss, muttered that she still hated him, and then Mr. Vaughan wept. He only cried once or twice a day but this brought him tears of joy. He called Lydia forward to double their practice sessions so they'd practice every day.
In "Sloppy Seconds Ain't My Style", Cynthia and Lydia practiced her lines for the play, though it turned into kissing in the living room. Lydia ended the session for the day, then remembered it was her first time doing a play, and broke it down for her. It would become her whole life, consume her, and then when it was time she'd pour her heart out, it'd go too fast, and then boom. It would be over, and they would all move on. She left without another word.
The next day, Cynthia saw Lydia across the parking lot talking to the Thespians. Later in the theater, Hazel and Lydia watched Cynthia perform drearily onstage with Buddy. Mr. Vaughan told Cynthia she was awful and instructed Lydia to double up her rehearsal time. He instructed her not to go easy, then hurried off to look at the costumes.
Cynthia and Lydia practiced more in Cynthia's house. She couldn't see the point in rehearsing for only 90 minutes of performance, but that wasn't exactly what Lydia had said before. It might only be 90 minutes, but she began to explain when Cynthia asked her to leave. She stopped Lydia as she began to leave, and gave her the chance to say something else. Lydia told her to enunciate more than left.
The thespians prepared for the play in dress rehearsal. Geraldine was ready for it to be over and so was Cynthia, though Floyd didn't think she could complain. Cynthia powdered her face and Lydia tried to help her, but Cynthia snapped at her and stormed off. She stormed into the music room and Lydia followed her. She told her that her hair was brown, though Cynthia didn't want to play along. She finally conceded and repeated what Lydia told her. Lydia called her scared, and Cynthia tearfully repeated it. She realized Lydia was too, and they repeated the sentiment breathlessly. They touched and then kissed passionately. They giggled nervously and then Cynthia panicked. She walked out of the room.
The thespians headed on stage without Cynthia. The crowd clapped as the play moved on to the next act. Lydia emerged from behind the stage to introduce Juliet, who didn't come out on her cue. She repeated the cue and Hazel took a deep breath, steadied herself, then stepped into the light. The crowd was shocked and Mr. Vaughan looked out in surprise. Hazel performed perfectly through her song about finding her light after being in the shadows for so long. She was still afraid but continued her performance. She kissed Buddy on stage and everyone gasped again. A podium came down and Hazel took her spot on it as it raised into the air as her skirt flowed into a beautiful train. The spotlight went out and the song ended.
Personality[]
Lydia is a dedicated thespian and is deeply connected with others in the group she considers on her same level. Friends with Floyd and Arthur. Extremely confident in her skills as an actress and at first disapproving of newer thespians. She has a very dry and sarcastic sense of humor and is slow to let down her guard.
Physical Appearance[]
Lydia has a very distinct style that obviously denotes her as an actor. She looks very put together and often wears coordinating berets that match her outfit in color. She has a large collection of pins and brooches which she matches to her outfits. She has blue eyes and dirty blonde/brown hair which she often styles in soft curls.