The acclaimed book The Outsiders encourages protagonist Ponyboy Curtis to stay gold, but I’d argue that this musical is bronze at best. Hi, folks. Let’s dive right in.

The Outsiders musical is based on S.E. Hinton’s coming-of-age novel about two rival teenage gangs – the working-class Greasers and the schmancy Socs – in 1967 Tulsa, Oklahoma. If you’re unfamiliar with this book (i.e. you’re either from outside North America, or you pretended you read it in grade school but actually didn’t), think of it as West Side Story + Grease + Newsies + violence – romance + water. There’s a dance-fighting rumble, there’s grease, and there’s dirt and rain. I could’ve used more dirt and water, but this is likely a limitation of a touring production.

The Broadway production, which won the 2024 Tony Award for Best Musical (and is still running), became the first new musical to recoup since 2022. Granted, the Best Musical race that year wasn’t the most competitive, but I came into this show with high hopes. Or, more aptly, Great Expectations. (Ponyboy is reading that book in the show).

The Globe & Mail gave it a Critic’s Pick, and my colleague at NEXT gave it five stars. I can’t quite match that level of enthusiasm, but on the whole, I liked it. I liked a lot of it, though some aspects didn’t work for me. Let’s break it down in list form (because that’s the mood I’m in today).

What worked:

1. The performances. The cast is talented, young, energetic, and, at times, soaking wet. No one stands out as a weak link, and honestly, all the performances work for me. The singing is strong overall, the acting feels earnest – no complaints on this front.
2. The staging. Director Danya Taymor crafts some really effective stylized tableau moments, especially during the fight scenes. The performers slip into slow motion, pause before making a move, or step away from realism and mime actions. Perhaps not to everyone’s taste, but it works for me.
3. The dancing. It’s glorious. It’s dynamic.
4. The visual design. The lighting and set design are fantastic. It feels like a spectacle set in a junkyard, and I love it.
5. The rumble scene. Perfection. An absolutely excellent dramatic moment.
6. A general note: it feels important. I’m not sure how to articulate it, but it has substance, even if it’s not perfect.

What didn’t fully work:

1. The songs. The score by Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance) and Justin Levine is pretty and tonally appropriate, but most of the songs blend together, apart from the standout number, Great Expectations. There are also a few too many “bro love” songs. The actors sound great, but it sometimes feels a little forced or awkward when the actors break into song, and the songs don’t always advance the plot in a meaningful way. Still, they’re performed well enough that I’m inclined to forgive it.
2. The lyrics. Some of them feel lazy – more tell than show, and often very literal. Perhaps they’re drawing some of these lines directly from the book.
3. The narration. The show relies heavily on direct-to-audience narration, which I feel is slightly overused.
4. The sound design. Cool in theory, poor in execution. I missed a lot of lyrics, and there were moments when sound effects were absurdly loud or overpowered the singers and musicians.
5. The diction. As much as I love the cast, I could have used clearer diction throughout.
6. The script. Adam Rapp and Justin Levine’s book is…fine. It’s serviceable. The first act feels slow, and the second act feels overstuffed, but ultimately it gets the job done.
7. My one major gripe: the changes to Dallas’s final moments. [*Spoiler*] In the book, after his friend dies, Dallas essentially engineers a blaze-of-glory ending by provoking the police during a crime gone wrong. The musical simplifies this so that he just jumps in front of a train, reducing him to an impulsive and melodramatic figure, which he was not.

I can understand why this play is popular with the youth. It’s fun, it feels alive, it’s gritty, and it’s packed with teen angst. I can also see why it won the Tony Award for Best Musical. There wasn’t a single musical that season that the theatre community overwhelmingly rallied behind, and The Outsiders takes risks and looks undeniably cool.

I quite liked it, but I didn’t love it. So it goes.

Featured image: The Outsiders North American Tour Company, by Matthew Murphy.