One of this year's most Tony Award nominated new musicals (with 12 nominations) is THE OUTSIDERS, the new musical adaptation of The S.E Hinton Novel currently playing at Broadway's Jacobs Theatre. Here is his ★★★ review on the musical.

The Outsiders is a 12-time Tony Award-nominated musical adaptation of the groundbreaking novel by S. E. Hinton and film by Francis Ford Coppola. The cast features Brody Grant as Ponyboy Curtis, Sky Lakota-Lynch as Johnny Cade, Joshua Boone as Dallas Winston, Brent Comer as Darrel Curtis, Jason Schmidt as Sodapop Curtis, Emma Pittman as Cherry Valance, Daryl Tofa as Two-Bit Mathews, Kevin William Paul as Bob Sheldon and Dan Berry as Paul Holden.

Tulsa, Oklahoma. Two teenage gangs sustain a rivalry: the well-to-do "Socs" (short for "socials") and the ne'er-do-well "greasers." The greasers, including the iconic characters of Ponyboy Curtis and Johnny Cade, have an often rocky brotherhood, but in a society that's all but abandoned them, it's all they have. The Outsiders musical tells a timeless coming-of-age story about finding hope and connection in a rough world.

Hinton published her novel in 1967, the same year the show is set and three years after she started writing the novel while still in high school herself. The Outsiders book and its subsequent 1983 film adaptation remain groundbreaking for their naturalistic, unsanitized portrayals of how teenagers talk and act and what happens when they're neglected. The film also launched the careers of then-new actors like Ralph Macchio, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, Patrick Swayze, and Matt Dillon.

The Outsiders Broadway musical features original songs by Justin Levine and the folk duo Jamestown Revival, composed of Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance. The book is by Tony-nominated playwright Adam Rapp, known for The Sound Inside, and Levine.

•

00:00 | introduction
03:36 | overview / synopsis
07:16 | the material
13:59 | the highlights
17:21 | performances

•

About Mickey-Jo:

As one of the leading voices in theatre criticism on a social platform, Mickey-Jo is pioneering a new medium for a dwindling field. His YouTube channel: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠MickeyJoTheatre⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ is the largest worldwide in terms of dedicated theatre criticism, where he also share features, news and interviews as well as lifestyle content for over 60,000 subscribers. Since establishing himself as a theatre critic he has been able to work internationally. With a viewership that is largely split between the US and the UK he has been fortunate enough to be able to work with PR, Marketing, and Social Media representatives for shows both in New York, London, Hamburg, and Paris. He has also twice received accreditation from the world renowned Edinburgh Fringe Festival. His reviews and features have also been published by WhatsOnStage, for whom he was a panelist to help curate nominees for their 2023 and 2024 Awards as well as BroadwayWorldUK and LondonTheatre.co.uk. He has been invited to speak to private tour groups, at the BEAM 2023 new musical theatre conference at Oxford Playhouse, and on a panel of critics at an event for young people considering a career in the arts courtesy of Go Live Theatre Projects. Instagram/TikTok/X: @MickeyJoTheatre