The world was a much different place when Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Outsiders” opened in theatres on March 25, 1983, or was it?
Adapted from S.E. Hinton’s seminal novel and Francis Ford Coppola’s iconic film, this thrilling new musical takes you to Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1967, where Ponyboy Curtis, his best friend Johnny Cade, and their Greaser family of ‘outsiders’ battle with their affluent rivals, the Socs.
“The Outsiders” navigates the complexities of self-discovery as the Greasers dream about who they want to become in a world that may never accept them. The show opened at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts Oct. 20 and will end its run on Nov. 1.
With a dynamic original score, The Outsiders tells a story of friendship, family, and belonging that leads to the realization that there is still “lots of good in the world.”
The condensed story hits the stage, starring Nolan White as Ponyboy Curtis, with an All-Star cast that includes local man and Laguna Beach native Brendan Dallaire, who makes his professional acting debut as Soda Pop Curtis, one of the three brothers around whom the story revolves.
Like the 1983 film, the musical keeps the same ending, turning grief into testimony, even as it leans harder on hope in a world much darker than the original story.
The story is largely the same. The book writers, Adam Rapp and Justin Levine, stay close to the sources while reshaping some dramatic moments. The story is condensed for the stage.
The big set pieces, the church fire and the rumble in the rain, are staged in a heightened, choreographed way rather than shown literally. Cherry’s role is larger, and the show frames itself more explicitly around the Greasers dreaming about who they could become.
Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance of Jamestown Revival, along with Justin Levine, wrote the songs. It’s a folk-and-Americana score that replaces the film’s orchestral music and period pop.
The play subtly reminds us that most people are more alike than the labels that divide them. While the politics of 2026 split us like never before, the Greasers and Socs are split by class on stage, but Ponyboy keeps finding common ground: Cherry watches the same sunset, and Randy admits he’s sick of the fighting. Suffering isn’t owned by one side.
“Stay gold.” This line comes from the Robert Frost poem “Nothing Gold Can Stay.” Innocence and goodness don’t last on their own. You have to choose to protect them, even in a hard world.\Dallaire plays the middle brother, always the comic relief character until a dramatic soliloquy near the end, as he and his older brother Darry try to convince Ponyboy to come home
“There’s a tightrope that he kind of follows in the show where he has to find a balance between tough love and humor,” Dallaire told ENE in an interview.
The tension between Darry and Ponyboy is central to the story. Ponyboy thinks Darry resents him, and he eventually realizes Darry is hard on him out of love and fear of losing him. Soda Pop says plainly that he can’t stand it when they fight, and that line pushes them to reconcile at the end.
“I kind of think of Soda as a bit of a comic relief in the show; he’s always just trying to find the good in people and trying to bring everyone together,” the young actor said.
“When in doubt, he’s just trying to find the love, and I think that’s how I’m trying to play it,” he added.
The simple staging works with cars, headlights blaring as they occasionally enter the stage, the explosive fire in which Johnny is badly burned while saving children is exceptionally done and moving for the audience.
The two are on the lam after Johnny ended up shooting one of the bullies for attempting to drown Ponyboy earlier in the show.
Later, after rescuing children from the burning church, Johnny lies injured and obviously will not survive. He dictates a note through a nurse that will ultimately move Ponyboy’s heart.
Ponyboy’s answer is to write. Johnny’s letter tells him it isn’t too late, and that sunsets still matter. Ponyboy then turns his English assignment into the story itself, and it begins with the novel’s first line.
The ending tests both ideas. Johnny dies after saving the children from the fire, and his last words are “Stay gold.” Dally, the Soc who has hardened completely, can’t survive losing Johnny and is shot by police. Together, they show the two possible outcomes: one boy who kept his goodness and one who lost it.
Dallaire’s credits include Jack Kelly in?Newsies?(Music Theatre Wichita), Pippin in?Pippin?(North Coast Repertory Theatre), and Roger in?Rent?(Flatrock Playhouse). Brendan is a graduate of the University of Michigan class of 2025.
On reflection, Dallaire said the play’s theme shows the world hasn’t changed much since the original 80s film. While the play, unlike the film, may not rocket the career as it did for its young stars, Matt Dillon, Patrick Swayze, Tom Cruise, and Rob Lowe into the stratosphere, Dallaire says it’s a start, and for now, he’s happy as Soda Pop can be.
If a standing ovation is any indication, the new generation of “Outsiders” are off to a really good start.
For more info, visit scfta.org or call Monday–Friday: 10 a.m. to 5 p. m., (714) 556-2787.