The musical was rough around the edges at its launch, but its entrancing indie folk-rock score by Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance) and Justin Levine gave voice to the brooding frustrations and aspirations of this divided adolescent community in 1967 Tulsa, Okla. When Ponyboy leads the company in a soaring rendition of \u201cGreat Expectations,\u201d the number evokes the haunting lyrical power of \u201cSpring Awakening,\u201d<\/a> another musical about young hearts yearning to break free from oppressive constraints. <\/p>\n What left the greatest impression in La Jolla, however, was the staging by Danya Taymor, who would go on to win a Tony for her breathtakingly fluid direction. Taymor\u2019s production catalyzes the storytelling, and the dynamic inventiveness of the mise-en-sc\u00e8ne is on kinetic display at the Pantages, where a top-notch design team works in perfect coordination.<\/p>\n If only the cast of Thursday\u2019s opening night performance of this North American tour production was as seamless as the staging. The singing is spectacular all around, but the ensemble has a scattershot feel. <\/p>\n There was a significant cast change at the reviewed performance. Ponyboy Curtis was played by Jordan Deandre Williams, who conveys all the pent-up angst and heartbreak of the sensitive, literary 14-year-old protagonist when commanding a song. But Williams\u2019 portrayal wasn\u2019t as secure in bringing to life the dramatic coming-of-age saga of a high schooler discovering his identity in a town that wants to define it along rigid class lines. (Christian Arredondo is scheduled to resume performing as Ponyboy this week.)<\/p>\n Born into the world of the Greasers, Ponyboy, who\u2019s being raised by his two older brothers after his parents were killed in a car crash, is proud of his slick hair. But he refuses to be limited by it. Bright and bookish, he would like to write his way out of his Tulsa trap. But just venturing to the cinema on the fancy side of town makes him a target of privileged, arrogant bullies. <\/p>\n \u201cThe Outsiders\u201d North American tour has most of the charms of the show\u2019s 2023 world premiere production.<\/p>\n (Matthew Murphy)<\/p>\n The book by playwright Adam Rapp and Levine, who in addition to his work on the score serves as music supervisor (among other roles), depends on the right ensemble blend. The casting has to communicate a particular world and adolescent psychology. And the natural swagger that\u2019s needed to fill in the gaps of the story fails to materialize. <\/p>\n Jackson Reagin, who has a captivating voice, returns to the company to play Sodapop Curtis, the brother who does his best to keep the peace within the family. Travis Roy Rogers plays Darrel Curtis, the eldest who has been forced to take on a parental role and is starting to resent all his unappreciated sacrifices. <\/p>\n This is a makeshift household, still reeling with grief. But the relationships ought to feel more solid than they do here. And this awkwardness manifests outside the Curtis home as well. The group story isn\u2019t delineated with enough dramatic nuance. <\/p>\n To take one example, when Ponyboy and Cherry Valance (Emma Hearn), who\u2019s dating Bob (Gabriel White Mar\u00edn), the hotheaded leader of the Socs, have their encounter at the movies, the impression isn\u2019t that of an awkward freshman from the wrong side of the tracks talking to an older girl with money from his high school but that of a pubescent boy bumping into his former babysitter.<\/p>\n Bonale Fambrini, left, and Tyler Jordan Wesley in \u201cThe Outsiders\u201d North American tour.<\/p>\n (Matthew Murphy)<\/p>\n The musical performances rescue this touring production. Among the supporting cast\u2019s vocal standouts are Bonale Fambrini, who plays Johnny Cade, Ponyball\u2019s loyal friend who can\u2019t catch a break in life, and Dallas Winston (Tyler Jordan Wesley), whose tough life has made him hard on the outside but vulnerable on the inside \u2014 and fiercely protective toward those who need it most. <\/p>\n The choreography by brothers Rick Kuperman and Jeff Kuperman is sensational. When the gang war that\u2019s been building all along between the Greasers and the Socs finally explodes in the second act, the violence is conveyed through movement, lighting, sound and just all around scenic brilliance. Best of all, the stylization doesn\u2019t aestheticize the bloodshed but terrifyingly drives home the destructive waste.<\/p>\n The last stretch of the musical, when Ponyboy is back with his brothers stunned by all the losses that have racked up during his misadventures, drags a bit because of the lack of fine-tuning in the characterizations. But \u201cStay Gold,\u201d the show\u2019s penultimate number that emanates directly from Johnny\u2019s final words to Ponyboy at the hospital, puts a spotlight on the innocence that\u2019s still nobly struggling to survive this harsh world \u2014 the very quality that makes Hinton\u2019s novel an indelible classic.<\/p>\n ‘The Outsiders’<\/p>\n Where: Hollywood Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd., L.A.<\/a> ![\""The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791204129_746_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Bonale](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791204129_332_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sundays. End Oct. 18
Tickets: Start at $57. Prices subject to change.
Contact: www.BroadwayInHollywood.com<\/a> or Ticketmaster.com<\/a>. Or in person at the Hollywood Pantages Box Office
Running time: 2 hours, 25 minutes (including one 15-minute intermission) <\/p>\n