Theatre 2026: The Outsiders @ Princess of Wales Theatre

The Outsiders is a powerful coming-of-age novel written by Susan Hinton in 1967 when she was just sixteen. Set in her hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma, the story is inspired by her personal observations of close friends who were in a gang and specifically by an incident where a friend was beat up just for being from the wrong side of the tracks.

The novel details the conflicts of two rival gangs, divided by their socioeconomic statuses as working-class, low-income “Greasers” versus upper-middle class “Socs” (short for Socialites). It is told as a first-person narrative from the main protagonist, a sensitive, intelligent, and bookish 14-year-old boy named Ponyboy (Michael) Curtis who finds beauty in sunsets and escapism in books and movies. Recently orphaned when their parents were killed in a car accident, Ponyboy and his 16-year-old brother Sodapop (Patrick) are being raised by their oldest brother Darryl who had to quit school to support the family. They are members of the Greasers, which include Ponyboy’s best friend Johnny Cade, a shy boy who comes from an abusive home, and Dallas (Dally) Winston, the oldest, toughest and most disillusioned member of the gang who has a criminal background but is fiercely loyal to those that he is closest to.

At the movies one night, Ponyboy establishes an unexpected connection with Sherrie (Cherry) Valance, the girlfriend of Bob, leader of the Socs. This eventually leads to a violent confrontation that results in tragedy and drives the rest of the plot. To save Ponyboy from being drowned by the Socs, Johnny stabs and kills Bob in self-defence. Dallas gives the frightened kids money and helps them escape to an abandoned church in the countryside. While in hiding, the boys discuss the meaning of a Robert Frost poem titled “Nothing Gold Can Stay” that describes the innocence of youth that is transient. After a few days, Dallas comes to them with a plan to drive them to the next state but they decide instead to return home and turn themselves in. As they leave the church, it catches on fire, possibly from a lit cigarette that Ponyboy tossed away. Children on a field trip are caught in the fire and Ponyboy rushes back in to save them with Johnny hot on his heels. While they are able to rescue the kids and are hailed as heroes, Johnny Cade is seriously injured when a burning beam falls on him. To settle their differences over Bob’s death and Johnny’s condition as well as establish the dominant gang, the Greasers and Socs hold a “winner-takes-all” rumble which the Greasers win. When Johnny succumbs to his injuries, Dallas is overwrought with grief and commits “suicide by cop”. From his deathbed, Johnny encourages Ponyboy to “stay gold”.

The book explores class wars, identity and belonging, family and friendship, loyalty, and not becoming jaded (i.e. “staying gold”) despite life’s inequities and unfairness. This modern-day classic has sold over 15-million copies and has been translated into 30 languages, emphasizing the universality of the theme of feeling like an “outsider”.

A 1983 film adaptation of The Outsiders directed by Francis Ford Coppola included a stellar cast of young actors, many of whom went on to become big stars. This included Patrick Swazye as Darryl, Rob Lowe as Sodapop, Ralph Macchio (pre–Karate Kid) as Johnny Cade, Emilio Estevez and Tom Cruise as other Greasers, and Diane Lane as Cherry Valance. Matt Dillon and Leif Garrett, who were already famous, played Dallas and Bob respectively. Ironically, the lead role of Ponyboy was played by C.Thomas Howell who, despite a healthy film and TV career, is arguably the least known of the cast today. The gritty movie follows the main plot points of the book quite faithfully while cutting out details on the Curtis family’s backstory and dynamics. The film also plays up the fight and death scenes for dramatic effect, especially the big rumble and Dally’s death.

Coppola agreed to direct the movie after receiving an impassioned letter in 1980 from a librarian in Fresno, California, and her seventh and eighth-grade students, pleading with him to adapt the novel into a film. The book had greatly connected with the students, especially boys who did not typically read much. Hinton had also received letters from fans including ones who told her “how much the book influenced their life choices”.

A musical adaptation of The Outsiders opened on Broadway in 2023 and won Tony awards in 2024 for best new musical, as well as best direction, lighting design and sound design in a musical. We just watched a touring production of this show and can attest that these awards were well-deserved, especially the technical ones. The show starts with Ponyboy sitting alone on the edge of the stage writing into his notebook. He quotes the opening lines of the novel, which also happens to be the closing lines of the novel: “When I stepped into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home”.

This leads to the opening number,” Tulsa 67”, with lyrics that introduce the characters and describe the backstories of the Curtis family, the Greasers, the Socs, and life in Tulsa in 1967 for the haves and the have-nots. A reprise of this song at the end of the show acts as a bookend for the musical. It recaps Ponyboy’s character growth through his traumatic experiences as he finally understands how much his brothers love and need him. Darryl has a couple of emotional songs (“Runs in the Family” with reprise, “Throwing in the Towel”) that highlight his frustrations with trying to keep his brothers in line and his regrets for the life he gave up in order to keep the family together after his parents died. Sodapop gets his moment in the song “Soda’s Letter” where he pleads for Ponyboy to come home.

I thought the songs do well to service the story, although there is not much nuance or sophistication to either the lyrics or the melodies. But what makes the show special is its stagecraft and the innovative use of lighting and sound effects. As Dallas helps Ponyboy and Johnny escape on a train while singing the jazzy song “Run, Run Brother”, that train is simulated through the use of some planks and rolling car tires with lighting and sound effects bringing the train to life. Unlike the source material, a train is also the vehicle by which Dallas commits suicide while singing “Little Brother” to convey his angst and despair about Johnny’s death. The best use of lighting and sound effects is in the choreography and staging of the climatic final fight between the two gangs. The rumble scene happens in darkness and pouring rain (requiring 180 gallons of recycled water per performance) with a pulsating soundtrack that includes sounds of thunder and the rumbling and horns of passing trains. The fight scene comes across as a violent and visceral dance. The simulated punches and kicks are accentuated with loud, gut-wrenching smacking sounds and flashes of light, as the heads of the actors jolt back and their bodies flail outwards in reaction to each attack. We first experienced this during the 2024 Tony Awards where the cast performed the scene and have been excited to watch this show ever since.

There is also effective use of video throughout the musical, such as the screenings of movies in the background as Ponyboy is speaking about or actually watching a movie, including clips of films featuring his idol, Paul Newman. Video backgrounds are also used effectively to reflect the glow of the sunsets that Ponyboy and Cherry bond over, and the glowing fire raging through the church.  At the end of the show during the bows, the orchestra appears as videos above the actors and then remained in view after they left.

Whether intentionally or not, The Outsiders seems be influenced by, or at least reminds me of, iconic musicals of the past. When Ponyboy survives an initial beating by the Socs and is initiated into the Greasers in the song “Grease got a Hold”, the setting and choreography around an old car in a garage brings to mind “Grease is the Word” from the musical Grease. Dally’s defiant final moments before being struck by a train reminded me of Javert’s suicide in Les Miserables.

The most obvious comparisons must be with West Side Story since they both deal with rival gangs, although the reasons for the rivalries differ. Deviating from the novel or the movie, the Outsiders musical introduced a female Greaser named Ace, reminiscent of the character of Anybodys in West Side Story. Ace does not have much of a speaking role and seems to be there just to fill out the dance numbers. The location and dance sequence of the Friday night drive-in scene in the Outsiders, where the two gangs congregate, seems like a callback to the “Dance at the Gym” in West Side Story. Cherry’s song “Hopeless War” pleading with Ponyboy not to fight in the rumble parallels with Maria asking Tony to stop the fight in West Side Story.

I thought the Outsiders musical did an admirable job of reflecting the novel, including allocating songs that allow characters like Darryl, Sodapop, Johnny, Dallas and Cherry to express their inner thoughts and emotions. I did think that in following the narrative of the novel, everything that followed the pivotal rumble felt a bit anticlimactic. I also felt that the orchestration was a bit too loud for some of the songs, drowning out the lyrics a bit. But overall, I enjoyed this musical very much and thought that it deserved its Best Musical Tony Award.