The Outsiders Musical breaths new life into an iconic American story
- thehypegoblin
- Mar 6
- 6 min read
“When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home.” This is the opening line to S. E. Hinton’s 1967 novel The Outsiders, a work which I didn’t fully appreciate until well after having first read it in a middle school English class. When I found out the musical’s national tour would be coming to Detroit’s Fisher Theatre I was curious to find out how a musical would adapt the book for the stage.
The Outsiders novel is written from the first person perspective of 14-year-old Ponyboy Curtis and takes place over a two week timespan in a fictionalized Tulsa, Oklahoma. The story revolves around the activities of Ponyboy (played on tour by Nolan White), his best friend Johnny Cade (played on tour by Bonale Fambrini) and their poor, working class Greaser family of ‘Outsiders’ who are in near constant conflict with the rich kids from the opposite side of town known as the Socs, short for Socials. Events of the story lead to Ponyboy and his best friend being involved in a violent conflict which forces the pair to go on the run. While hiding from the law the two are involved in a heroic deed which ultimately ends in tragedy.
When it comes to the narrative of the musical it holds mostly true to the text of the book and its themes of friendship, loyalty, class struggle, prejudice, and the coming-of-age search for identity. It even manages to smartly hold onto the spirit of the book’s first person narration by Ponyboy through some rather ingenious staging during repeated 4th wall breaks which White delivers on in the role with practiced effortlessness to great effect. The breaks go so far as to have Ponyboy move into the audience to watch with them as a clip of a Paul Newman movie is projected onto the set. The moment is brief and doesn’t linger, but it does its job in letting the audience know they’re not just watching a story unfold on stage, Ponyboy is telling the story directly to them as he sits with them shoulder to shoulder. There are very few musicals which employ fourth wall breaks that I genuinely enjoy but the musical’s staging and choreography managed to blend them so seamlessly it felt as though the story could only naturally be told with them included.
I was surprised to see a few narrative elements have been changed, but after 24 hours of contemplation I think it was for the best. I won’t give all the alterations away since that would put me in heavier spoiler territory than this already is. But just be aware going in if you’re a fan of the book or the movie, some characters were cut from the plot and some events changed or tweaked. One aspect of this happening that doesn’t give away story spoilers, is how the bond between the three Curtis brothers is portrayed in the musical. In the novel the reader is only able to see Ponyboy’s older brothers through the first person perspective which limits the reader to just what the narrator knows and feels, however the musical’s book by Adam Rapp and Justin Levine gives the audience significantly more insight to the brother’s relationships which I very much like. During “Runs in the Family” and “Throwing in the Towel” the audience gets to learn the motivation of Darrell (played on tour by Travis Roy Rodgers) and Sodapop (played on tour by Corbin Drew Ross) from their own perspective. I think this is a fantastic narrative choice for the show that adds so much more context for the tension between the three, especially Ponyboy and his oldest brother Darrell.
Book choices are all well and good but this being a musical I suppose getting on to talking about the music and songs is in order at this point… The Outsider's musical adaptation features music and lyrics by folk duo Jamestown Revival, with contribution by Justin Levine and music supervision, orchestration & arrangements by Justin Levine as well. On their own each individual song is beautifully written. However, as a complete work many of the numbers felt far too ambiguous lyrically for the moment or, like in the case of the ensemble of Greasers singing “Hoods Turned Heroes” leading into the next significantly heavier scene (trying to stay away from spoiler territory ha ha), caused some abrupt emotional friction that didn’t really need to be there. In my opinion, which all of this review is, that number could probably be cut and replaced with one line of dialogue from Ponyboy and the show’s flow into the aftermath of the boy’s return to Tulsa would be better for it.
Despite that I still think the songs are beautiful overall and it was rightfully deserving to have it’s four Tony Award wins. I thought it was a shame though that the biggest standout number for me, outside of the fight scenes but more on that later, didn’t come till near the end of the second act. Dallas Winston’s (played by Tyler Jordan Wesley on tour) final song “Little Brother” is a frantic and distressing portrayal of the character’s intense emotions following the boy’s return to Tulsa. Coupled with Wesley’s performance in the role throughout the show it left me wishing for more of that visceral, raw emotion from the rest of the songs. It was my favorite song in the show, closely followed by “Stay Gold” but I think that had more to do with Bonale Fambrini’s performance throughout the production than anything else. I’ll be ruminating on that one for a while though as I listen to the Broadway cast album on repeat.
That’s the difficult part of penning these reviews for me sometimes. While I do like to get my initial thoughts out into the world while the shows are still in town for my local audience I do sometimes have an epiphany a month or so down the line once I’ve had time to fully process the experience and sit with it a while.
For most audience members, I don’t think what the songs lack in individuality will matter much thanks to how technically stunning the production is with its staging by director Dana Taymor’s and fight sequences choreographed by Rick and Jeff Kuperman. There are A LOT of fights that happen in the story and the show doesn’t shy away from that violence. The fights are enhanced beyond their staging with the production’s sound design by Cody Spencer, lighting design by Brian MacDevitt, and some well timed reveals of stage blood have the audience feeling every single hit Ponyboy and the other characters take over the course of the story. I genuinely don’t think any attempt I make to describe these scenes will do them justice but in all my years of being obsessed with the theater I’ve never seen anything quite like them. The way this show handled every stage fight definitely raised the bar for me…
Even the sound effects used in the show are so artfully done they add new (and for me unexpected) layers of nuance to the story. My favorite sound effects being the recurring sound of a distant train whistle which brilliantly links events of the story on an unspoken level. In the novel and musical Ponyboy is haunted by the death of his parents, their death 8 months prior weighs heavily on him throughout the story, however in the novel it’s only stated that they died in a car crash without further context. In the musical the added detail that they died in a car crash involving a nearby train adds richer context for Ponyboy’s story and ever present grief. The train whistle used repeatedly throughout the sound design of the production repeatedly pulling the character’s attention to its distant whistle creates a beautiful representation of that internal despair he feels which compounds as the story progresses. It’s one of those subtle things about a production that’s so well thought out that truly makes you appreciate the often unappreciated labor of the tech side of a musical production.
The Outsiders will be at Detroit’s Fisher Theatre March 3 – 15, 2026. If you’re in town you can check at BroadwayInDetroit.com for tickets. If you live elsewhere you can go to OutsidersMusical.com for the full list of tour dates and locations.
Until next time y’all… Stay Golden.
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