The national tour of The Outsiders, coming soon to the Providence Performing Arts Center, will seem familiar. And not just because it’s the stage adaptation of S.E. Hinton’s seminal 1967 young adult novel – which was required middle school reading for most of us – and Francis Ford Coppola’s iconic 1983 film of the same name.
Set in 1967 Tulsa, Oklahoma, this coming-of-age musical features rival gangs of haves and have-nots, a romance that crosses enemy lines, and a second-act rumble to settle the score. It features tough-acting young men with soft underbellies and tough-talking young women in heeled dance shoes.
So, yes, it’s West Side Story, only set in the Southwest and minus world-class creatives the likes of Arthur Laurents (book), Leonard Bernstein (music), Stephen Sondheim (lyrics), and Jerome Robbins (choreography).
Still, Adam Rapp (book), Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance (music/lyrics), and brothers Rick and Jeff Kuperman (choreography) are nothing to sneeze at, considering that The Outsiders, which premiered at San Diego’s La Jolla Playhouse in 2023, earned four 2024 Tony Awards, including Best Musical.
At its core, this musical is about friendship, family, and a sense of belonging, particularly for three orphaned brothers: Ponyboy (Nolan White), the undersized 14-year-old narrator of this story; the brawny and romantic Sodapop (Corbin Drew Ross); and Darrel (Travis Roy Rogers), the eldest, who is their protective father figure.
After an opening number (“Tulsa 1967”) that does much of the expository heavy lifting — introducing characters, establishing time and place, and setting up the primary conflict between the disadvantaged “greasers” and monied “socs” – expect a wistful sense of resignation underscoring the rest of the show.
That resignation takes on a country flavor in the songs (the composer and lyricist are the duo who front the folk band Jamestown Revival), which is suited to the show’s Oklahoma setting and the characters’ aching desire to escape it.
The production’s scenic design – Ponyboy’s hyper-realistic memory of a backstreet playground in the neighborhood – did not win any awards. But Tony-winning lighting and video design by Brian MacDevitt and Hana S. Kim add remarkable dimension and drama to the stage. In this space and under this illumination, The Outsiders unfolds with admirable grace under Danya Taymor’s direction. Even the athletic choreography during a rain-soaked rumble is beautifully romanticized.
Prior to the Tony Awards, many New York critics found the score to be uneven and unmemorable, and the narrative overly melancholic. The show has only been on national tour for five months, but local reviews have been more forgiving.
Writes Peter Hall, Buffalo Rising: “Season ticket-holders who got to The Outsiders earlier in the run haven’t shut up about how much they loved this show. They were completely captivated. And so was I.”
Hayden Hudson, The Daily Nebraskan, says this: “There are certain moments in live theatre that make me hold my breath, and ‘Great Expectations’ [the song where Ponyboy sings about his desire to break free from his predetermined life in Tulsa] was one of them.”
Natalie De La Garza, Houston Press: “[Novelist] Hinton’s themes around identity, belonging, socioeconomic division, and found family are as resonant now as they were almost 60 years ago. Its teen angst is familiar, maybe too familiar at times, but the production’s staging and performances lend it a physical immediacy that keeps it from feeling stale or cliché. It lands, no sentimentality or nostalgia necessary, which is a big credit to the actors.”
Musicals centering around outsiders seem to be all the rage in this season’s touring productions at PPAC. They include Wicked (about an ostracized women with green skin), Suffs (featuring women as second-class citizens with no right to vote), and the upcoming Kimberly Akimbo (showcasing an alienated 16-year-old with a rare, accelerated-aging disease).
Like them, The Outsiders is also driven by authenticity, earnestness, and heart. And, like them, this production should prove to be a moving and highly entertaining evening of theater.
The Outsiders runs from April 14 – 19 at the Providence Performing Arts Center, 220 Weybosset St., Providence. Contact ppacri.org or 401-421-2787 for tickets, $72 – $156, includes fee.
Bob Abelman is an award-winning theater critic who also writes for The Boston Globe. Connect with him on Facebook.