THE OUTSIDERS

When I used to hear the words “Broadway musical,” I would at first envision classics like My Fair Lady, A Chorus Line, and Chicago. And more recently, Rent, Wicked, The Book of Mormon, and my favorite, The Drowsy Chaperone, all innovative. But the Broadway world has gotten so much more sophisticated that now it appears that gritty shows such as The Outsiders have become the norm. And my friend Laura and I are grateful to The Segerstrom for bringing these important modern ones to all of us SoCal peeps. And in such a gorgeous and comfortable venue, to boot!

Being a major eschewer of violence, The Outsiders is not exactly my cup of tea. However, the “rumble” in the rain, which highlights the second act, is the most incredible fight choreography I have ever seen! I was riveted to the stage; I did not want it to end! I could see this show for a second time just to witness those few brief minutes again. It’s seriously stunning, as are all the special effects.

On that front, the cast keeps cleverly moving set pieces around to depict a fountain or a church or trains and terrain on which fugitives escape. (That last scene is brilliant.) I was enthralled by all that work.

But with the actual story, not so much. (Details on that in a bit.) I had never read the source material novel nor seen the film, (nor even the one-season TV flop of the tale,) so I did not know what to expect, on any front. I knew going in that it was something about a group of teenage boys in Tulsa, Oklahoma in the 1960s, and that the movie had made stars of just about every young cast member, but that was it. So it turned-out to be way too violent and sad a premise for my sensitive self.

However, as a former teacher, and daughter of English and Speech teachers, I sooo appreciate the two important literary references in The Outsiders. Dickens’ Great Expectations is a theme throughout for the central character, Ponyboy, and in Act II he recites Robert Frost’s short poem Nothing Gold Can Stay. (I’m sharing it in full at the bottom of this review.)

There’s also a good little lesson included in the narrative, regarding everybody having problems. Two of the teens discuss that no one “has it made,” (or something to that effect,) which is important for everyone, especially young people, to realize.

And it made me smile a bit to see the older brothers worrying when the youngest one comes home late, which is just what my far-from-Oklahoman mother always did, so I guess that attests to familial concern being universal.

I have to admit that the show started off a bit slow for me, (but that could also have something to do with my being stressed about having traveled down to Costa Mesa in a rainstorm,) but it grew on me, beginning with a scene at a drive-in movie. (Even though, in my experiences with them, the drive-in is portrayed incorrectly. I believe the point of a drive-in is to watch a movie in your car—especially for teenagers who want to make-out—and not sit on a bench in front of the screen. But who knows what it was like in 1967 Tulsa? Perhaps people in Oklahoma did things differently.)

In addition to admiring the visuals and choreography, I feel the same about the talented cast, who have shockingly few credits among them!!! So, major props to them for what they’ve now accomplished. Several of the actors’ voices are really good, especially Travis Roy Rogers, (who I can’t believe never worked professionally before!,) as the older brother Darrel, and Brendan Dallaire as the middle brother, Sodapop.

On a real-life note, the fictional story of the trio of main brothers reminded me of what happened to country singer Shania Twain’s family. Her parents died in a car accident together when she was twenty-two, so she raised her younger siblings. In The Outsiders, the background is that the same thing happened to the parents of those three boys, and that’s why the oldest bro became the mother hen.

The Twain tragedy happened two decades after this book was written, so that was just a coincidence, but The Outsiders does bear some resemblances to Romeo and Juliet. And it’s actually pretty much an Okie version of West Side Story, especially with the two rival teenage gangs, the fighting over one girl, people getting killed, and that one non-descriptive girl in the gang of boy Greasers. (Remember the character Anybodys, who Mr. X said I looked like when a hairdresser once cut off all my hair by accident?) And there is the obligatory rumble, of course, which I’m repeating was the extreme highlight of the show for me.

Laura had read the book and seen the movie, so now her The Outsiders trifecta is complete! And she enjoyed them all. She was very pleased with this production. (And she told me that her daughter, who’s in the 7th grade, is doing a unit on the movie in her “History Through Film” class!!!)

But even though it won the Tony for Best Musical, I feel that the story doesn’t really lend itself to becoming a musical for several reasons. First of all, it’s bleak, with tons of violence, so it’s certainly not for everyone. Then just every role is male, with really only one female part. (The scriptwriters threw in three more girls, I’m assuming so that it’s not a total sausage-fest on stage.) There’s nary an opportunity for an upbeat song or dance. And it’s about twenty minutes too long. As much as I hate to say this, it’s enough already with all the letters to each other from kids who most likely can’t write them to begin with, and then the singing of slow songs about them.

But despite all that, you could tell that a lot of work has gone into the production, which is always a major positive. And I feel that all theatre-lovers need to see famous shows like this to decide for themselves.

Since I’ve never read the book nor seen the movie, this musical served as my introduction to this inane story. Any quarrels I have are with the novel, not the musical. The scenario has so many holes: the set-up at the drive-in; that the two girls would be sitting there alone to begin with when their boyfriends are right there; and as soon as the character Johnny Cade receives a knife from an older boy, you know the meanest dude on the other side will be getting killed soon.

And what’s up with the plethora of nicknames? There’s “Ponyboy,” “Sodapop,” “Two-Bit,” and “Cherry.” And what author in her right mind would name two main characters “Dally” and “Darry?” I thought I hadn’t cleaned-out my ears that morning because I must not have been hearing those names correctly. Yet another issue for me is that, in my native New York, the Greasers would be the ones who are the aggressors, not the rich kids. That just seems so backwards.

And speaking of the rich kids, this one thing is driving me nuts as a writer. (And trust me, I’ve done extensive research on the topic now.) The mean kids are known as a word that is short for “Socials.” In the musical, they’re clearly saying “Soches,” which is the plural for one “Soch.” But I discovered that in the book, it’s written as “Socs,” which would be pronounced “socks,” which would defeat the whole purpose of them being classified as “Socials!”

But the author, S. E. Hinton, was a teen-ager herself when she wrote the book and it was published, so I have to force myself to give her a bit of a break here.

Getting back to this musical version of The Outsiders, we should all take any chance to see a Tony-winning musical, whether or not we end up agreeing with that choice. So I suggest that you see it now at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts while they’re giving us this wonderful opportunity. (And remember to check-out their entire line-up of presentations in the link below.)

Laura has lived in LA her entire life, but had never been there before! And she was as impressed with it as I always am. For this run, there are several fun photo ops, so try to get there early. (I think they always do things like this.) And either before the show or at intermission, I recommend that you explore every floor of the theatre. (But remember which one your seats are on—Laura and I got lost a few times!)

And don’t be late because, unlike many shows in LA proper, this one pretty much starts on time, which is a beautiful thing.

The Outsiders running November 1, 2026
Segerstrom Center for the Arts—Segerstrom Hall
600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa
714-556-2787 www.scfta.org

Now, as promised, here’s the entirety of Frost’s Nothing Gold Can Stay:

Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.