Those familiar with S.E. Hinton's novel The Outsider and its film adaptation by Francis Ford Coppola, and many in this country, will know that the story, set in 1967 Tulsa, revolves around two rival gangs. I know it revolves around Greasers and Socks. . In the show, their rain-soaked climactic roars are punctuated only by the thumps of fists and kicks, grunts of anger, and moans of pain as they pound their targets. Rick Cooperman and Jeff Cooperman's fight and movement choreography is symbiotic with Brian McDevitt's harsh lighting and Cody Spencer's imaginative sound design.
Similar ingenuity, albeit on a smaller scale, is on display throughout, as when a few tires and a board are enough to see the characters hop aboard a freight train. The only major stumbling block is the arson of an abandoned church. It's an important scene, but it's puzzling if you don't know what happens. (Set design is by the collective AMP featuring Tatiana Kahvegian.)
Indeed, “The Outsiders” is appealing from a visual standpoint. It's when the characters open their mouths that it becomes unsettling.
The show's book, adapted by Adam Rapp (The Sound Inside) and Justin Levine (who also wrote the music for folk-rock duo Jamestown Revival), closely follows the framework of the novel. . Both settings center on the 14-year-old narrator, Ponyboy (played by the suitably irascible Brody Grant).
The brothers are all greasers, a chosen family of assorted misfits living proudly on the wrong side of the tracks. Their enemies, the wealthy socialites (short for “socialites”), are blessed with “better clothes, better cars, and better lives,” as Ponyboy explains in his introductory song “Tulsa '67.” The background and stakes are shown as shown. In a mass of artless exposition.
And therein lies the problem. The show always overexplains everything. Hinton knew exactly when to say and how much to say. The paperback edition of “The Outsiders'' is just 180 concise and evocative pages, allowing you to discover things alongside Ponyboy. Here, both books and songs tend to underestimate the intelligence of their audience. (This is surprising from Mr. Rupp, who is usually not afraid of ambiguity.)
For example, Darrell in the novel is a distant cipher for much of the story, making Ponyboy's realization of how much his brother loves him all the more touching. Meanwhile, on stage, Darrell details the emotional weight he's carrying during the opening moments of “Runs in the Family,” one of several “I want” numbers throughout the show. – In case you don't understand the first time, or number five, underneath the bravado these kids are sensitive and long for love and stability. “Queen of the Socks” Cherry (Emma Pittman) also experiences a bit of domestic turmoil.
The most troubled are Johnny (Skye Lakota-Lynch), a shy teenager who is Ponyboy's stepbrother, and Dallas (Joshua Boone), the boy's friend and guardian. Originally an unpredictable loose cannon, Dally, as his friends call him, is now an honorable knight in black leather, and Boone imbues him with a warm voice and steady dignity. Masu. That character's background and dreams were developed within the show, perhaps in an attempt to make him less opaque, similar to Darrell's. It's as if theatergoers are assumed to lose interest if they aren't directly provided with backstory.
However, this backfires and diminishes the suspense and tension of a story where the violence is either central or just simmering in the background. You wouldn't know it from the score, which lacks dramatic weight and relies too heavily on similar folk-pop ballads that feel redundant. For example, right after Johnny kills Sock (Kevin William Paul) in a strongly staged scene, he and Ponyboy sing a song called “Run Run Brother,” which is a reference to what we just saw. It starts by rehashing the , but it doesn't do much. There's a bit of a problem with musicals where the acoustic storytelling always pales in comparison to the visual storytelling.
Outsider, currently underway at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theater in New York. 2 hours 30 minutes including break. outsidermusical.com.