Long before The Outsiders became a Tony-winning musical, generations of young readers were meeting Ponyboy Curtis in the classroom.
S.E. Hinton’s 1967 coming-of-age novel has remained a familiar presence in schools, while Francis Ford Coppola’s star-studded 1983 film introduced the Greasers and Socs to an even wider audience. More than four decades after the movie’s release, the story has found another generation through a musical that returns, fittingly, to where its journey toward Broadway began.
The Outsiders: A New Musical plays the Hollywood Pantages Theatre from September 30th through October 18th before heading to Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa from October 20th through November 1st. The musical had its world premiere at La Jolla Playhouse in 2023 before opening on Broadway the following year, where it received 12 Tony Award nominations and won four, including Best Musical and Best Direction of a Musical for Danya Taymor.
Set in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1967, the story follows Ponyboy Curtis and fellow Greasers including Johnny Cade and Dallas Winston as tensions with the more affluent Socs increasingly threaten the world around them. Friendship, family, class and the uneasy passage into adulthood remain central to a story Hinton began writing while still a teenager herself.
The national tour stars Nolan White as Ponyboy, Bonale Fambrini as Johnny and Travis Roy Rogers as Darrel “Darry” Curtis, with Tyler Jordan Wesley as Dallas through October 4th before Anthony Garcia assumes the role beginning October 6th. Jackson Reagin plays Sodapop during the Los Angeles engagement, temporarily stepping into the role regularly played by Corbin Drew Ross. Adam Rapp and Justin Levine wrote the book, with music and lyrics by Jamestown Revival’s Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance and Levine. Taymor directs, with choreography by brothers Rick and Jeff Kuperman.
For Rogers, the Los Angeles engagement carries an additional connection. The Burbank native and 2024 Carnegie Mellon School of Drama graduate is making his professional debut as Darry, the eldest Curtis brother who assumes responsibility for Ponyboy and Sodapop following their parents’ deaths. It’s a role Patrick Swayze played in Coppola’s film before becoming one of the defining stars of his generation.
Now Rogers gets to explore Darry at the beginning of his own professional career — and practically in his own backyard. LAexcites spoke with him about stepping into the role, the story’s enduring hold on young audiences, the legacy of its famous film cast and what it means to come home with The Outsiders.
Patrick Swayze famously played Darry in the 1983 film. Did his performance influence your interpretation at all, or did you intentionally approach the character with fresh eyes?
Rogers: Although I admire and look up to Swayze’s iconic portrayal of Darrel, I felt the best way for me to honor the character would be to bring as much of myself to the role as possible. I’m also lucky to be able to say that our creative team really empowered me and encouraged me to make it my own. Darrel is a special role, and I feel so blessed to be able to bring my interpretation into the Outsiders canon.
Darry is the eldest Curtis brother and, by necessity, becomes the parental figure. Does any of that big-brother dynamic carry over into your relationships with the actors playing Ponyboy and Sodapop offstage?
Rogers: Actually, yes! First and foremost, we are all great friends and peers, but the dynamic definitely exists in some cool ways. We have almost the same age gaps between the three of us as the characters do, so a lot of the dynamic naturally lives in that. Also, Corbin Drew Ross (who plays Sodapop) and I went to college together! He was a freshman when I was a senior, so our brotherly connection was there before we were both cast in this production.
Many young people first encounter The Outsiders in middle or high school. What was your own relationship with the story growing up, and what has it been like to return to it professionally?
Rogers: Funny enough, I am one of the few who wasn’t very familiar with The Outsiders when I was younger. I certainly knew of it, but I didn’t have my own introduction until my college years. My dear friend from college, Jason Schmidt, actually originated the role of Sodapop on Broadway, and that was when I first encountered this iconic story firsthand. It’s surreal that I am now taking that same show across the country.
The 1983 film brought together a remarkable cast of future leading men, including Swayze, Tom Cruise, Rob Lowe, Matt Dillon and Ralph Macchio. As you make your own professional debut with The Outsiders, what do you take from that legacy at the beginning of your career?
Rogers: It’s super cool to be mentioned behind those iconic names, but most of all, I think it speaks to the iconic characters that 16-year-old S.E. Hinton created. It is a true gift to play a character with such depth and nuance. I feel spoiled to start my career with a role that has so much to dig my teeth into.
You grew up in Burbank before studying at Carnegie Mellon. What does it mean to return home with this production and perform at the Hollywood Pantages in a sort of homecoming?
Rogers: It is beyond surreal. My earliest memories of theatre are all from seeing shows at the Pantages. My viewings there as a young person are the direct inspiration for me to pursue this work. I’m going to be pinching myself throughout the whole run, and I hope to inspire someone the way I was inspired as a kid sitting in the audience.
Cover image caption: The Outsiders North American Tour Company. Photo by Matthew Murphy.
The Outsiders plays the Hollywood Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles from September 30th through October 18th, followed by Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa from October 20th through November 1st. For tickets, performance schedules and additional information, visit broadwayinhollywood.com for the Hollywood engagement and scfta.org for Costa Mesa.
