outsiders tour thoughts. heyyy. strap in.
that la jolla 2023 energy is back and it’s traveling around the country. there’s something inherently true about touring productions and it’s that they aren’t broadway. different contracts, greener actors, and the only constant is the company and the story they tell. there are less singers, less instruments, less safety nets. things go wrong. it’s nearly impossible for a perfect show when you’re only in a theater for a maximum of two weeks at a time.
and this is the reality that a story like the outsiders, a play that follows ponyboy as he traces back how he learned to tell his story, excels in. an imperfect story being told in not only the imperfect conditions of pony’s life on the east side but literally the imperfect conditions of theatre itself. everyone on stage has to sing their ass off since they’re down a singer in the booth. everyone is acting their ass off because instead of being 5-8 years removed from the characters’ ages they’re 3-4 or so years removed. there’s something so beautiful about how they are retelling this story rather than presenting it. feels very Crafted in the way that la jolla did because it didn’t have broadway money, and this takes after that in terms of on hand resources.
there are also a fair share of changes, but none are too obvious. the only ideas i want to mention are that i think the changes make it more clear that two-bit is older than dally, which i goddamn adore. there’s more suggestive dancing between two-bit and ace toward the end of the drive-in number and his more silly prankster attitude is far more sticking it to the socs-based than just fun-based. he uses a huskier, raspier tone to sing and speak (at least jaydon nget does, and it’s not how he actually speaks at all so it is a voice he’s doing for the role). he is just 18 year old two bit for real. and dally is 17. his scene with johnny when he gives him the knife is much more on equal footing, looking out for each other rather than dally looking after johnny. the way dally reacts to johnny’s potential death and then when he does die hits much closer to him in the way he’s losing his best friend, not just his “little brother” which feels way more personal. dally collapses to his knees upstage before he begins his “and started running for the train tracks” walk. like. he’s very 17 in a way broadway did not feel.
and i would say it’s because the actors are younger but it’s not, because two-bit is clearly an older greaser and on bway he is not as much so. really really appreciated that adjustment.
additionally, marcia feels a lot more promiscuous! there were two moments two-bit put his arm around her waist in the drive-in sequence, meanwhile she’s very physical with trip in the next moment. she’s the soc girl who gets to dance on the car for some of the choreo. it’s explicit she’s cheating on trip with two-bit even among the socs, too: one of the biggest add-ins is as two-bit’s cheek is getting burned, paul and chet both shine their flashlights not on two-bit (like brill and trip do while bev burns him), but directly on marcia while they sing “where did those greasers go, must be someone out there who knows”….. it’s explicit. the la jolla ‘marcia trying to warn two-bit that they’re coming after him’ tableau is alive again yall god is good! woo!
nolan’s ponyboy is not trying to be cool or act tough. he’s tough because he’s a greaser, cool because he’s a greaser, and quiet, soft-spoken, and sympathetic because he’s ponyboy curtis. the way he talks to cherry sounds like a younger kid confiding in someone he wants to connect with. he feels like the narrator of a book trapped in a musical… someone let this kid record a new audiobook. he sounds so much like ponyboy. and he also whips those lines at darry during RITFR, enough so to make me gasp. the way he talked about darry always felt stark in the book, so of course it’s startling when he says “it’s not my fault you HATE your dang life!” after being so cute with everyone else 😭
corbin drew ross sodapop. a genuine joy. every line he says sounds like it was spoken direct from his heart without any consultation from his head in the best way possible. he only says what he believes, so openly and easily, which is a hard angle to act because obviously you’re acting so it’s “not” true. really commendable and believable, and like. the most beautiful voice a soda actor could have, it’s so impressive.
travis’s darry went to the college of ryan vasquez at la jolla university. this is a darry that we are seeing very much after eight whole months of something bubbling under the surface, like it’s not a mystery that it comes out the way it does- but jesus, when it does. whew. you’re forced to watch this guy just ruin his own life, tear it apart with how angry he lets himself be. runs in the family reprise is both frightening and devastating. this darry is still bitter, tired in a way that makes him angry, in a way that reminds him every moment that it didn’t have to be like this. there’s a line in the book about how darry looks jealous of paul, how pony knows he’s ashamed to be fighting in the rumble at all, and also how darry’s jealousy and shame “didn’t matter to anyone except me and Soda”. and that’s how RITF(R) felt- extremely personal within their walls, when it’s sort of brushed off earlier in RITF when the gang is there and chores are obviously piled on darry. travis’s darry is also not a big crier, which feels more accurate to the darry pony describes in the book. he certainly has a breakdown after he and dally go at it, and he really doesn’t want to be touched- until he initiates the embrace at the end of the song, fiercely, like a wordless thanks to Soda. also his voice is incredible, he acts through music really strongly. la jolla darry is back and i love him.
bonale’s johnny. i am so grateful that they seem to be letting johnny really act 16/act like the rest of the gang’s ages on tour, because it doesn’t always read on broadway. this is someone who looks after ponyboy, who is personal friends with dallas, and is just a traumatized greaser. but still a tough greaser. he walks with a limp the whole show due to the “beat on his arms and his legs and his face” line. it’s crazy. his singing voice is also more mature sounding which i adore, since pony’s does sound so young.
i was lucky to see both tyler’s dally and seth ajani’s!! they were both pretty different. tyler definitely had a tangible connection or desire for a connection with emma’s cherry, which i thought was Really cool. the whole base of it really was “is there an actual heart beating under” her sweater, like that felt like the thesis of the monologue from jump. LOVED it. tyler was also sort of quieter when he spoke, very straight-forward about what he was saying. unafraid to throw it in darry’s face when the other chose to get loud with him. seth’s dally however HATED darry’s ass, was happy to basically tell him he wasn’t a greaser with the “it’s a greaser decision darrel” line, did cukoo hand motions around darry’s head at “ponyboy told me how you went crazy on him”… that personally sent me over the edge. whew. both felt really young and trying so, so hard to be tough in a world made to break people like dally down. fantastic performances.
this is long so i’ll make a soc & ensemble post later ig oops. :)
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