STAY GOLD, GREASERS

This gripping musical adaptation
honors its beloved source while
finding an emotional life all its own

S.E. Hinton’s first novel, The Outsiders, written while she was still in high school and published when she was just 18, has inspired artists across multiple mediums for nearly six decades. It became a cult film under Francis Ford Coppola, spawned a short-lived television series and a stage play, and even found its way into video games. It may seem surprising, then, that it took so long to become a musical. Following a 2023 world premiere at La Jolla Playhouse and a Broadway transfer that earned eleven Tony nominations and four wins, including Best Musical and Best Direction for Danya Taymor, the show now arrives in Chicago on its first national tour.

AMP and Tatiana Kahvegian‘s scenic design is dominated by an enormous billboard viewed from the rear, which is eventually revealed to be the screen of a drive-in movie theater. It also serves as a canvas for Hana S. Kim‘s gorgeous projections, Brian MacDevitt‘s evocative lighting, and special effects by Jeremy Chernick and Lillis Meeh. In the foreground sit a battered car and a set of monkey bars, while an effectively used scrim helps frame Ponyboy’s opening narration.

Set in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1967, the story follows fourteen-year-old Ponyboy Curtis (Nolan White), who lives with his older brothers, the easygoing Sodapop (Corbin Drew Ross) and the burdened Darrel (Travis Roy Rogers), after the death of their parents. Along with his best friend Johnny Cade (Bonale Fambrini), Ponyboy belongs to the Greasers, a gang of working-class boys led by Dallas Winston (Tyler Jordan Wesley). Their long-running rivalry with the affluent Socs (pronounced “Soh-shehz”) turns deadly after a confrontation at a drive-in involving Cherry Valance (Emma Hearn), forcing Ponyboy and Johnny to flee.

The book by Adam Rapp and Justin Levine wisely draws from both Hinton’s novel and Coppola’s film while improving on each. Cherry emerges as a far richer character than in previous versions, thanks in large part to Emma Hearn’s warm performance, and the revised handling of Dallas’s fate is both more theatrical and emotionally satisfying. Not everything works as well. With the exception of Cherry, the Socs remain thinly drawn, and a few snippets of dialogue seem to reference scenes no longer in the show, leaving newcomers momentarily adrift.

The score by Levine and Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay & Zach Chance) is tuneful, and the songs linger in the memory long after the curtain falls. The touring orchestra is outstanding, and Cody Spencer‘s Tony Award-winning sound design deserves every accolade. It’s refreshingly balanced, allowing the musicians to support rather than overwhelm the performers—a rarity in contemporary musical theater.

Danya Taymor‘s Tony win proves equally deserving on tour. Her staging is dynamic and imaginative, while the dance and fight choreography by Rick Kuperman and Jeff Kuperman pulses with urgency. She also draws exceptional performances from a remarkably strong young cast. As in Coppola’s film, it’s an exceptionally attractive ensemble, but Taymor ensures that the performers are remembered for far more than their looks.

As Ponyboy, Nolan White brings an appealing, understated sincerity to the role. His quiet intelligence and slightly nerdy charm—reminiscent of a young Matt Damon—make him an ideal guide through the story. The relationship among the Curtis brothers is equally compelling, with Travis Roy Rogers conveying Darrel’s heavy sense of responsibility and Corbin Drew Ross providing much of the show’s welcome comic relief through his wonderfully offbeat line delivery.

Most important is the chemistry among White, Bonale Fambrini, and Tyler Jordan Wesley. The production beautifully captures the fragile, complicated bonds between young men trying to survive in a world that seems determined to crush them. At its heart, The Outsiders is a story of platonic love—of loyalty, sacrifice, and the family we choose. The three leads provide the emotional foundation on which the entire production rests, and without performances this honest and affecting, the musical simply wouldn’t work.

On the page and on screen, The Outsiders remains a vivid snapshot of late-1960s America. Onstage, however, its themes transcend time. In one sense, the Greasers are the outsiders because of class and circumstance. In another, both the Greasers and the Socs are simply frightened teenagers searching for identity, acceptance, and somewhere to belong. Nearly everyone remembers what it felt like to stand outside looking in. That’s why, nearly sixty years after S.E. Hinton first introduced Ponyboy and Johnny, this story still stays gold.

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photos by Mathew Murphy

The Outsiders
national tour
Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph St. in Chicago
Tue.–Fri. 7; Sat. 2 & 7:30; Sun. 1 & 6:30
ends on August 16, 2026 in Chicago
for tickets ($49–$165), visit Broadway In Chicago

tour continues; for dates and cities, visit Outsiders

for more shows, visit Theatre in Chicago

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