THE OUTSIDERS Musical at Fox Theater Review

(L-R) Emma Hearn and Nolan White in The Outsiders North American Tour. Photo by Matthew Murphy. Courtesy of the Fabulous Fox Theater

- By Cate Marquis -

The national tour of the Broadway hit “The Outsiders,” winner of the 2024 Tony for Best Musical, took to the Fabulous Fox Theater stage on Jan. 7. for a run through Jan. 18. Based on the classic young adult novel beloved by generations, this excellent and electrifying musical version of “The Outsiders” debuted on the Fox stage to an appreciative St. Louis audience of both young and old.

The musical version retains all the drama and appeal of the SE Hinton’s coming-of-age novel and the Francis Ford Coppola 1983 movie adaptation. It is a tale of high schoolers Ponyboy Curtis, Johnny Cade and their “Greaser” friends, the poor and working class “outsiders” who are barely tolerated in 1967 Tulsa. The Greasers are particularly the target of the affluent “Soc” kids (soc for socialite), teens who have money and privilege, but some of whom target the Greasers for bullying. Overall, it is a coming-of-age story of family, of fitting in, of friendship and the hopes and dreams of youth. With a strong cast, excellent staging, electrifying stage combat, plus songs that express the characters’ inner feelings, and a heart-wrenching, emotional dramatic story, “The Outsiders” delivers everything fans of the book could want but also anything any fan of just great dramatic theater could want.

The story centers on one boy caught up in this high school class divide, Ponyboy Curtis (an excellent Nolan White; the role is played by Jordan Deandre Williams at some performances) is the youngest brother of three who were left on their own when both their parents were killed in an auto accident. Ponyboy’s oldest brother, Darrel (Travis Roy Rogers), dropped out of high school to go to work support his two younger brothers, Ponyboy and Sodapop (Corbin Drew Ross). Darrell has stepped into the role of parent responsibly, because someone had to, but he also resents having to give up his own dreams in life. Darrel is frustrated by Sodapop, who does little more than watch cartoons on TV, but he has hopes for the youngest, Ponyboy, who does well in school and has the potential to do more with his life. And Ponyboy does indeed have dreams of something more than just a low-wage job and simple life society expects of him and the other poor kids.

Besides doing well in school, he likes movies with Paul Newman, books and poetry. Ponyboy’s true nature is revealed in the opening scene. Seated on the front edge of the stage, he reads from a notebook. “When I came out into the bright light from the dark movie theater, I had two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home,” lines delivered as a clip from a Paul Newman movie is projected on a screen on the stage above, on the back of the set’s wall above. That opening scene beautiful establishes character, as well as revealing the multi-tiered set, with a mix of physical props, screens and projections that this award-winning production will use. Setting the notebook down, the boy steps onto the set and into the story, transporting us into his world with that motion.

It is an impressive and dramatic start, and the production never steps back from that strong beginning. Fourteen-year-old Ponyboy sometimes serves as narrator, introducing us to characters and describing the situation in his hometown and the tensions between his outsider friends, the Greasers, and the dominate Socs. The “Greasers” are kids from working class families are just scraping by, but who bond together in a sense of camaraderie and fun, with a love of cars and their own style and proud identity. The Greasers are like a family but one of the boys is a bit older and not from Tulsa, charismatic Dallas Winston (Tyler Jordan Wesley), who has traveled around and did a term in juvenile “lockup,” which gives him an air of worldly experience. The Greasers are looked down on, and often harassed by, the pampered, affluent kids they call the “Socs,” short for socialite. The Socs have nice cars, nice clothes, no worries about their future, and yet sometimes feel the need to bully the have-not kids, when they think they have strayed into their territory.

One particular target of the Socs in the past is Ponyboy’s best friend Johnny Cade (Bonale Fambrini), who was beaten up by a group of Soc boys, and hasn’t really gotten over it. Bob (Mark Doyle) is the bully who leads the Socs, and bosses all everyone around at times, even his girlfriend Cherry Valance (Emma Hearn).

“The Outsiders” also features soulful songs that advance the story or give insight on characters, and fit smoothly into the story. It also has high-energy dance numbers, and crackling stage combat scenes, both of which are integral to the story. The cohesiveness of those elements with the dramatic drive of the story combine to give this musical a remarkable emotional power.

One of the most striking part of this show is the inventive staging, which combines props, sets, and projects to create both mood and sense of place.

The opening scene, where the author sits at the front and side of the stage, reading the first words of the book, combines these staging elements brilliantly, with a set that creates a separate space for the narrator that is outside the frame of the layered stage set for the story. When Ponyboy looks up to see a screen projection of a clip of a Paul Newman movie, the set’s design puts him both inside and outside the story, until the narrator steps up and into the story. It is a visually powerful moment, and not the only one in this show.

The foreground of the main part of the stage floor is occupied by the front of an old car on the left, a prop that serves as a gathering place for the teens who call themselves the Greasers, as they play and kid and tinker with the car, but which cleverly is transformed into Ponyboy’s and Sodapop’s with a blanket, pillows and a lamp. A fancier car belonging to the Socs appears on the left, sliding out for a scene, and then back in the shadows for the next. There is a level above the stage floor, where projections, such as movie clips) appear and which also serves as an upper level hiding place later in the story. The main center of the stage floor is space for high-powered choreography and some truly impressive stage combat in the second act.

The movie theater that Ponyboy has just left at the start of the musical is in the affluent side of town, where the Greasers are not welcome, but the town’s drive-in theater is neutral territory where both groups can meet. Late in the first act, it becomes the site of a pivotal moment that drives events that rush towards the dramatic, heart-rending but also hopeful conclusion.

If you are going to pick one show to see at the Fox this season, this would be an outstanding choice. This Broadway tour of this award-winning hit show scores on every level, with a moving human story of family, conflict, and dreams.

“The Outsiders” is on stage at the Fabulous Fox through Jan. 18, 2026.

© Cate Marquis