One of the weird things about being a regional theatre critic is that I am often 2 or 3 years behind the New York critics. This mostly doesn’t impact me too much but there are times when the big Tony Award winners can be pretty hyped up by the time I get to see them. They aren’t just good musicals but award-winning masterpieces and some times I leave feeling disappointed. Sometimes I come around on them like with Hadestown and other times they are just letdowns like with Kimberly Akimbo. I was worried The Outsiders would be disappointing because I had heard so much hype about it but fortunately it exceeded my expectations. What an entertaining, exhilarating night of musical theatre!
Most of us know The Outsiders from the novel and readin it in school or seeing the 1983 film starring loads of soon-to-be famous actors like Tom Cruise, Patrick Swayze and Ralph Macchio. It’s a simple story of gang rivalries and how it impacts a boy given the nickname Ponyboy. The musical then takes this basic premise and crafts one awe-inspiring scene after another all the while accompanied by some very catchy showtunes.
In the national tour Ponyboy is played by Christian Arredondo and his strongest singing moment is probably the song “Great Expectations.” Travis Roy Rogers plays Ponyboy’s brother Darrel with a lot of heart and soul. As an older sibling who did my share of co-parenting I could relate to what Darrel is going through even if not too such an extreme. His song “Throwing in the Towel” is very effective in endearing his character to the audience.
Director Danya Taymor makes sure the actors do not get lost in the visual effects and choreography of the piece, which is no small task. I felt these teens have chemistry together and with all the busyness on stage they don’t forget to have intimate moments like when Ponyboy and a girl named Cherry are talking at the drive-in.
The choreography is from Rick and Jeff Kuperman and it is incredible especially for the Act 2 rumble that also has stunning lighting design by Brian MacDevitt creating an awe-inspiring sequence. I loved pretty much everything in Act 2 as they aren’t afraid to surprise the audience with fire, rain, lightning and more, which was so exciting to watch.
There are times when the strobe light was a little much and it started to give me a headache so make sure you are aware if you have light sensitivity issues. Also, the musical might have more meaning to you if you have seen the 1983 film or read the book before seeing it. It makes the story choices more exciting with context behind it.
I also wish they had given Cherry more to do. Her plotline feels wedged in and underdeveloped when it could have been a cool character to explore. Still, I loved The Outsiders. It probably has its best song as its opener with “Tulsa 67” and then continues to impress from there. I know the tickets are expensive but in my opinion this show is worth the investment. The Outsiders is playing at the Eccles until Nov 15th and tickets can be purchased here.
The Outsiders: A New Musical has music and lyrics by Jonathan Clay, Zach Chance and Justine Levine. The book is by Adam Rapp and Justin Levine based on The Outsiders novel by SE Hinton and the film script by Kathleen Rowell. It first premiered on Broadway in 2023.
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