THE OUTSIDERS - WINNER OF 2024 TONY AWARD

Christopher Sergel’s play is a faithful adaptation of S.E. Hinton’s coming-of-age-novel about rival teenage gangs in 1960s Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Greasers come from troubled working-class backgrounds, contrasted with the Socials, whose members are from upper-middle-class families. Like the novel, the play centers on 14-year-old Ponyboy Curtis, a member of the Greasers gang, as he recounts the violent aftermath after his friend Johnny fatally stabbed Socials member Bob. This adaptation places much of the violence off-stage and minimizes the strong language and mature content of the novel and movie, making it a fitting choice for high school productions. The characters are crafted with compassion and nuance, offering opportunities for rich character study and conversations about violence and social status.

You may not realize it, but part of the reason "The Outsiders" feels so authentic is because the novel it's based on was, in turn, based on real-world events. S.E. Hinton started writing the book when she was just 15 years old, seeing it published just a few years later. Given that knowledge, it's hardly surprising that the youthful exuberance is so damned believable in both the novel and the film. As for the relentless tension between the "Socs" and "Greasers," Hinton took her inspiration from watching interactions between rival teen gangs in her own town whose hatred for one another was so combustible they entered the school building by separate entrances to avoid daily tussles (via MentalFloss).

Though Hinton's novel wisely refrains from outright demonizing either gang, "The Outsiders" is told from the point-of-view of a "Greaser," leading one to naturally align with that particular faction. Seems that choice was very much by design as the author revealed in an interview published by The Outsiders Fan Club she mostly hung out with the "Greasers" in her high school days, "Ponyboy's gang was inspired by a true-life gang, the members of which were very dear to me." In turn, Hinton's affection for those living life on the wrong side of the economic divide not only helped inform one of the best-loved young adult novels in history, but a true classic of '80s cinema to boot.

FYI - In our season kick off, they always offer us a group dinner, plus they give us a swag bag with memorabilia from some of the shows. In this swag bag, we received the book, THE OUTSIDERS. I am not a big reader, unless it is an audio book, but i will read this book. I started it this morning and I am on about page 5, it gripped me. If you are a reader and are going to this show, i will pass this book on to someone, i will have a drawing, so if you want to be included in this drawing, send me a text (8133809233) or an email (sbbroadway@aol.com) - i also received a journal from Hell's Kitchen - I will put anything related to the 25/26 season in that journal, i do not have the photogenetic brain some people think i have. Other items in that swag bag - THE WIZ pins (4 of them), Kimberly Akimbo magnet, stereophonic pin (perfect for me cause it is an S, an elephant keychain, and a notebook keychain (the key to my heart) and i especially love my AND JULIET TOTEBAG, and a water canister from HELLS KITCHEN.

So don't hold back on this show. It is very rare a book will grab me on page 5, considering i like to use my ears for reading a book and not my eyes.

https://youtu.be/ViqjwH99OgQ?si=I5s91jVtQKkHtchC