Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The sensitively staged musical adaptation of THE OUTSIDERS sounds gorgeous but could dig deeper

• By drediman
• April 12, 2024
• No Comments

There’s much to admire about the new musical adaptation of The Outsiders, which opened on Broadway yesterday at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre. Based on S.E. Hinton’s widely-read young adult novel of the same name (which was also adapted into a mediocre film by Francis Ford Coppola), the musical tells the turbulent coming-of-age story of one Ponyboy Curtis, an orphaned, poverty-level teenager who finds himself caught in the eye of the storm of escalating teenage gang warfare between the “Greasers” and the “Socs” (Ponyboy, a Greaser, narrates the musical from hindsight).

Comparisons to West Side Story are inevitable. Indeed, with the exception of the setting — The Outsiders is set in 1960s Tulsa rather than 1950s Manhattan — the two musicals pretty much align, even with respect to a star-crossed attraction. Unfortunately, The Outsiders pales in comparison to that legendary musical, particularly with respect storytelling and structure. There are plenty of gorgeous, heartfelt musical moments in the substantial pop/folk score by Justin Levine and Jamestown Revival’s Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance, but many of their songs tend to sanitize the scenes they’re placed in of emotional complexity. Although playwright Adam Rapp has attempted to instill grit into the show, his book (which Rapp co-wrote with Levine) tends to skim over the eventful plot rather than dig into the guts of the story. Only the jaw-dropping second act rumble seems to hit upon the kind of total integration of music, storytelling, choreography, and design that West Side Story is rightfully praised for.

Luckily, everything else about the production is fantastic, starting with Danya Taymor’s sensitive direction, which leads by instinct rather than spectacle. The same can be said of Rick and Jeff Kuperman’s exciting choreography, which has exudes stylized restlessness and pent-up testosterone. As for the performances, they’re also quite good — particularly the triple threat ensemble work — even if the male-dominated cast doesn’t quite look the part of teenagers. As Ponyboy, the sweet-voiced Brody Grant gives a likable performance that thankfully stays clear of histrionics. Also worth mentioning is Joshua Boone as the defiant Greaser Dallas; it’s the kind of generous yet stage-igniting performance that hopefully won’t go unnoticed in this spring season of openings.

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THE OUTSIDERS
Broadway, Musical
Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre
2 hours, 25 minutes (with one intermission)
Open run