In Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1967, the hardened hearts and aching souls of Ponyboy Curtis, Johnny Cade and their chosen family of ‘outsiders’ are in a fight for survival and a quest for purpose in a world that may never accept them. A story of the bonds that brothers share and the hopes we all hold on to, this gripping new musical reinvigorates the timeless tale of ‘haves and have nots’, of protecting what’s yours and fighting for what could be. Adapted from S.E. Hinton’s seminal book and Francis Ford Coppola’s iconic film, THE OUTSIDERS features a book by Adam Rapp with Justin Levine, music and lyrics by Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay & Zach Chance) and Justin Levine, music supervision, arrangements & orchestrations by Justin Levine, choreography by Rick Kuperman & Jeff Kuperman and directed by Danya Taymor.
And therein lies the problem: The show overexplains everything, all the time. Hinton knew exactly how much to say and when — the paperback edition of “The Outsiders” is just 180 concise, evocative pages that let us discover things along with Ponyboy. Here, both the book and the songs tend to underestimate the audience’s intelligence. (This is surprising coming from Rapp, who is usually not afraid of ambiguity.)
I suspect that a lot of people will like The Outsiders more than I did. But to me, its approach misses the central thrust of Hinton’s story. Her point was that kids who might be dismissed as juvenile delinquents are teenagers like any others, with complicated feelings and dreams. But in the musical, they mostly seem neither juvenile—Grant is a terrific singer, but he doesn’t sound remotely 14—nor delinquent. Rapp and Levine add cuss words to the dialogue, but otherwise their version scrubs the Greasers clean. In the book, they are low-level criminals. Here, they are presented as innocent victims, targeted by the villainous Socs merely for being poor, and perhaps for not all being white guys: Their leader, Dallas (an excellent Joshua Boone), is now Black, and their group includes an Anybodys -style tomboy. It’s like a version of West Side Story in which one of the gangs is entirely to blame, and the other is just trying not to die while crossing from the wrong side of the tracks. And this sanitization makes the musical feel oddly superficial. It approaches its subjects from the outside.
General Rush:
Price: $45
Where: Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre box office
When: Rush tickets are available at the box office on the day of the show when the box office opens at 10 AM Monday-Saturday, 12 PM Sunday.
Limit: Two per customer
Information: Subject to availability.
30 Under 30:
Price: $45
Where: Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre box office
When: $30 Under 30 tickets are available at the box office on the day of the show when the box office opens at 10 AM Monday-Saturday, 12 PM Sunday.
Limit: Two per customer
Information: Subject to daily availability, the production will make available a limited number of tickets for anyone 30 years of age and under.
Digital Lottery:
Price: $49
Where: https://rush.telecharge.com/
When: The digital lottery opens at 12AM ET one day before the performance closing at 3 PM the day before the performance. Winners will be notified by email shortly after each drawing and have six hours to claim and purchase tickets online. Tickets will be emailed.
Limit: Two per customer
Information: Winners are drawn at 10AM ET and 3PM ET that same day. While every effort will be made to seat pairs together with a full view, there is a chance that pairs may be split up and that your seat may have a partial view of the stage.
2024 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
2025 | US Tour |
North American Tour US Tour |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2024 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Choreography | Rick Kuperman |
2024 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Direction of a Musical | Danya Taymor |
2024 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical | Brody Grant |
2024 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Lighting Design of a Musical | Brian MacDevitt |
2024 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Lyrics | Jamestown Revival |
2024 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Music | Jamestown Revival |
2024 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Musical | The Outsiders |
2024 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Scenic Design of a Musical | AMP featuring Tatiana Kahvegian |
2024 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Sound Design of a Musical | Cody Spencer |
2024 | Drama League Awards | Disinguished Performance | Brody Grant |
2024 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance | Joshua Boone |
2024 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Production of a Musical | The Outsiders |
2024 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Choreography (Broadway or Off-Broadway) | Rick Kuperman |
2024 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Lighting Design (Broadway or Off-Broadway) | Brian MacDevitt |
2024 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding New Broadway Musical | The Outsiders |
2024 | Theatre World Awards | Theatre World Award | Brody Grant |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Book of a Musical | Adam Rapp |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Choreography | Rick Kuperman |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Direction of a Musical | Dayna Taymor |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Lighting Design of a Musical | Brian MacDevitt |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | The Outsiders |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Orchestrations | Justin Levine |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre | Jamestown Revival |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical | Joshua Boone |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical | Sky Lakota-Lynch |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical | Brody Grant |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Scenic Design of a Musical | Tatiana Kahvegian |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Sound Design of a Musical | Cody Spencer |
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