Review: Tremendous homecoming for ‘The Outsiders’ musical tour

Though it’s a musical set in Tulsa, Okla. in 1967 (as the opening song “Tulsa ‘67” reminds us), I felt a lot of hometown pride watching “The Outsiders” at the Civic Theatre on Wednesday, just in time for Broadway San Diego’s 50th anniversary. 

The musical adaptation of S.E. Hinton’s 1967 novel, one of the first realistic books aimed at a teenage audience, originated in San Diego. It premiered at the La Jolla Playhouse in February 2023, before moving to Broadway and clinching the Tony Award for Best Musical in 2024. Now the musical is back in town through Sunday as part of a national tour. 

San Diego native Brendan Dallaire even plays Sodapop Curtis, the middle of three boys who mediates between his brothers. The graduate of the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts is a Broadway San Diego Awards student alum who has performed with North Coast Repertory Theatre. 

San Diegans once again have the opportunity to see a stage transformed with shifting gravel, drenching rain and moving cars. The only major stunt missing is that no churches are on actual fire. Instead, that pivotal scene is simulated through smoke machines and bright orange lights. 

As a quick reminder, for those who haven’t seen the 1983 Francis Ford Coppola movie adaptation (with young rising stars Patrick Swayze, Tom Cruise and Rob Lowe as Greasers), or read the book in a while, “The Outsiders” is a haunting tale about a group of have-nots, known as Greasers, on the East Side of Tulsa, who are routinely beaten up by life circumstances and their wealthy counterparts, the Socs (for socialites).

The protagonist is Ponyboy Curtis (Christian Arredondo), an artistic 14-year-old navigating relationships with his two older brothers, fellow greasers and the Socs out to get him. 

Ponyboy faces so much discrimination, violence and misfortune that he compares himself to the fictional orphan Pip, the main character of Charles Dickens’ “Great Expectations,” which is also the name of a moving ballad in the musical. 

Hinton, herself a teenager at the time of the book’s writing, demonstrated that teens could grapple with tough themes of violence, inequality and survival – which was nearly unheard of in books for that age group at the time. “The Outsiders” is taught to middle school students in America to this day. 

Seeing the musical a second time cemented the adaptation as a theatrical feat, even beyond its inventive props, innovative lighting, incredible fight choreography and sublime staging. It’s not just a feast for the eyes – it’s moving, heart-felt and genuine. It captures the grittiness of Hinton’s book and the profound injustices she explored while offering the hopeful urge for people to “stay gold” even in the toughest circumstances. 

It’s interesting to compare the tour version to the version I saw three years ago. While Adam Rapp’s book and the music and lyrics from Jamestown Revival (duo Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance) and Justin Levine are the same, some of the directorial and acting choices are different, even with Danya Taymor staying on as director. I feared a scaled-back version necessary for a rigorous cross-country tour, but the set was just as ambitious and unique as I remember. 

The soft edges of some of the complex characters felt spikier in this version. As Darrell, the oldest Curtis boy who is torn between the role of brother and father after the death of the trio’s parents, Travis Roy Rogers transforms into a tightly wound ball of bitterness instead of oozing a jagged tenderness.

Dallas Winston too, the alpha of the Greasers, felt brittle enough to snap at any moment, instead of embodying a magnetic charisma that draws Ponyboy and Johnny Cade to him. Played by the hulking Anthony Garcia, Dallas cuts a sinister swathe that simultaneously allures and frightens the youngest Greasers, who depend on his street savvy to escape Tulsa. 

Later, Darrell and Dallas’ vulnerable underbellies are exposed as both in different ways fight to protect Ponyboy not just from the Socs, but also the police and his own destructive tendencies. 

The coming-of-age story focuses on the fraternal bonds of the Greasers, with few female roles, making understudy Katie Riedel’s turn as Cherry Valance, who serves as an emotional bridge between the Socs and Greasers, shine all the more.

Other than Ponyboy, the most important character is his best friend Johnny Cade, depicted with teenage angst and moral clarity by Bonale Fambrini. 

Different art can affect an audience in different ways. Musicals have endured by bringing so many approaches together, making the result more powerful by telling a story that could not be told through music, dance, acting or scenic design alone. “The Outsiders,” already familiar as a book and movie, demonstrates just how affecting a musical version of an oft-told tale can be. 

Catch it before it’s gone at the Civic Theatre, where it continues through Sunday. Find tickets at broadwaysd.com.