The Outsiders: An Insightful Musical Experience

On opening night of “The Outsiders” at Playhouse Square, a patron sitting a row ahead of me attempted to record the musical number “Stay Gold.”

There are so many reasons that this behavior is wrong, the foremost being that it’s illegal. This is unethical behavior at any show and no matter the musical number, but in this instance, the act felt especially misguided due to its irony.

The number “Stay Gold” references “Nothing Gold Can Stay,” a poem by Robert Frost that uses the temporary essence of nature to expound upon the fleetingness of all things, be it life, beauty, innocence or perfection. This is a major theme explored in “The Outsiders,” and one that feels exceptionally fitting thanks to the production’s raw beauty, near perfection and, ultimately, its fleetingness.

“The Outsiders” takes place in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1967 and follows the coming-of-age story of Ponyboy Curtis. At only 14, Ponyboy and his two brothers, Darrel and Sodapop, have lost both of their parents in an accident that leaves them orphaned. While the eldest Curtis brother, Darrel, becomes a provider and pseudo-father, Ponyboy finds another form of brotherhood within the Greasers gang. The Greasers–led by Dally, who just got out of county lockup–are gritty, working-class east siders who are at constant ends with the Socs, wealthy socialites from the other side of town. After Ponyboy forms a friendship with a Soc girl named Cherry, he and his best friend Johnny are jumped by Cherry’s jealous boyfriend, Bob, and his posse of Socs, escalating the increasingly violent war between the rival gangs that threatens to leave bodies in its wake.

The story originates from a classic 1967 young adult novel by S.E. Hinton. For its depiction of a realistic, difficult and at times unsavory, teenage experience, the novel has been added to required reading lists for some American middle and high schools. It has been placed on banned book lists for the same reason. In 1983, the book received a popular film adaptation by director Francis Ford Coppola.

“The Outsiders: A New Musical” premiered on Broadway in April 2024 with a book by Adam Rapp and Justin Levine. Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance from the folk rock band Jamestown Revival composed the show’s music and lyrics alongside Levine. The show earned the Tony Award for Best Musical in 2024, alongside the show’s director, Danya Taymor, who took home Best Direction of a Musical.

Based on the showing from the North American touring production currently stationed at Cleveland’s Playhouse Square, “The Outsider’s” prestigious accolades were well-deserved.

The creative elements are a feat in themselves. There’s no question as to the merit of the Tony Awards won by Brian MacDevitt’s lighting design and Cody Spencer’s sound design. Both work in tandem to not only transport audiences to different locales, but to punctuate tense moments with added intensity and weight, ensuring that every punch, slap, kick and slam within the many fight scenes is given tangible, cringe-inducing–sometimes blinding–impact and is delivered with intriguing artistry.

The sceneography by AMP–featuring Tatiana Kahvegian–combines elements from drive-ins, playgrounds, parking lots and parks to create a kinetic space with an abandoned, run-down aura. With the inventive shifting of boards or the rolling of cars or tires, the players create new paths and locations. Throughout the show, the scenery, projections, special effects, lighting and sound design are intelligently combined to manifest stunning, jaw-dropping imagery that will sear itself into your memory.

The choreography by Rick and Jeff Kuperman helps differentiate the clean-cut Socs and the hard-edged Greasers as effectively as Sarafina Bush’s costume design of collared shirts, swing skirts, stained tees and cuffed jeans. The choreography makes constant use of rubber pellets that layer the stage’s floor so that the actors slide, kick and flip the malleable pellets about entertainingly.

Not only is the visual and auditory presentation exquisite, but the story is heartfelt; it’s one of loss and prejudice, longing and ambition, violence and poverty, brotherhood and belonging. The folk-inspired music taps into a rich emotional vein–utilizing harmonization to its utmost power. All of which is performed by impeccable talent.

In the role of Ponyboy is the fantastic Nolan White. White makes for a believable teenager, a lovable little-brother character and a charming narrator, infusing Ponyboy with youthful energy and charisma that all audiences will adore.

In the role of the Greasers’ leader, Dally, is a suave, confident Tyler Jordan Wesley, whose facial expressions in the latter half of the show work double time to portray the character’s troubled nature. The seemingly softest member of the gang and Ponyboy’s best friend, Johnny Cade, is given a sweet, tender air by actor Bonale Fambrini.

The vocally talented Emma Hearn plays Cherry Valance, a kind, thoughtful Soc with whom Ponyboy can connect, while Andrew Cekala gives antagonist Bob a violent, intimidating portrayal.

Travis Roy Rogers plays Darrel, Ponyboy’s overworked and overburdened eldest brother, with plenty of emotion and a beautiful voice. As the dim-witted Sodapop, actor Corbin Drew Ross provides multiple moments of comedic relief that help alleviate tension.

I understand the desire to capture “The Outsiders,” to package it up and relive it again and again, as the production is about as close to perfection as you will likely see. But this triumph on stage is only made more remarkable thanks to its fleetingness, its immediacy. So buy your tickets, bask in the ephemeral, soak in the beauty of the evanescent nature of theater and remember that nothing gold can stay–in the case of “The Outsiders” at Playhouse Square, that’s only until May 17.

“The Outsiders” runs through May 17, 2026, at Playhouse Square,1501 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland. Visit playhousesquare.org or call (216) 241-6000 for tickets, $83-214.

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