It's bizarre that Rise doesn't have Rosie Perez's character as the drama teacher in charge

Vulture

"From the perspective of its creators, NBC’s new drama Rise is the inspiring story of an English teacher (played by Josh Radnor) who ends up in charge of a high-school musical and decides to stage Spring Awakening, leading his students to all sorts of emotional realizations along the way," says Jackson McHenry. "From the perspective of a very confused person watching Rise, it looks like the story of a random white guy who seizes control of a high-school musical, decides to stage Spring Awakening, and makes many baffling directorial decisions. But perhaps most baffling is this: The fictional Stanton High already had a drama teacher named Tracey Wolfe running the musical, and she is played by Rosie Perez."