The Outsiders Musical on Broadway
From a La Jolla premiere to the 2024 Tony for Best Musical, the greasers sing
Fifty-seven years after a teenager in Tulsa published her first novel, her greasers stood on a Broadway stage holding a Tony Award. The road ran through a 1983 film, two generations of classrooms and a California premiere, and it ended with one of the most surprising Best Musical wins of the decade.
The Outsiders musical opened on Broadway at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre on April 11, 2024, after previews from March 16. It won the 2024 Tony Award for Best Musical and three more Tonys.
It is based on both S. E. Hinton's novel and Francis Ford Coppola's 1983 film, with folk-rock songs by the duo Jamestown Revival and Justin Levine.
What is The Outsiders musical about?
It tells the same story as the book: Ponyboy Curtis, his brothers and their greaser friends in Tulsa, the rich Socs across town, a night in the park that goes terribly wrong and everything that follows. The musical places the action in 1967, the year the novel was published, and keeps Ponyboy as the voice who guides the audience through it.
The music is folk and Americana rather than classic Broadway, written by Jamestown Revival, a Texas duo known for close two-part harmonies, with Justin Levine, who also wrote the orchestrations.
↑ Back to the topHow many Tony Awards did The Outsiders win?
Four, at the 77th Tony Awards in June 2024: Best Musical, Best Direction of a Musical for Danya Taymor, Best Lighting Design of a Musical for Brian MacDevitt and Hana S. Kim, and Best Sound Design of a Musical for Cody Spencer. It was nominated in several other categories, including Best Original Score and Best Book, and Brody Grant was nominated for playing Ponyboy.
The staging is a big part of the reputation. The rumble is performed in the rain, and the lighting turns the stage into sunsets, headlights and fire.
↑ Back to the topIs The Outsiders still on Broadway, and is there a tour?
It settled in for a long run: by early 2026 it had passed 700 performances at the Jacobs Theatre and paid back its investors, and it was still playing there in mid-2026. A North American tour began in 2025 and has visited cities across the United States, which is the easiest way to see it outside New York. Check the official production's website for current dates, because tour stops change every few weeks.
↑ Back to the topHow does the musical compare with the novel?
It keeps the heart of the book: brotherhood, class, the poem about gold and Johnny's last words. As in any stage version, some side characters and scenes are cut or combined, and the Curtis brothers' relationship is told largely through song. Because it draws on Coppola's film as well, some moments will feel familiar to anyone who has seen the movie.
If you are going with a student who is reading the novel, it works well as a companion. It is no substitute for the book's own voice: Ponyboy's essay is what the whole story is built on.
↑ Back to the topThe Outsiders musical: key facts
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| World premiere | La Jolla Playhouse, California, March 2023 |
| Broadway | Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, opened April 11, 2024 |
| Book | Adam Rapp with Justin Levine |
| Music and lyrics | Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance) and Justin Levine |
| Director | Danya Taymor |
| Tony Awards 2024 | Best Musical, Direction, Lighting Design, Sound Design |
| Tour | North American tour from 2025 |
More about The Outsiders
Books Like The Outsiders
The Fault in Our StarsJohn Green
Bridge to TerabithiaKatherine Paterson
The Perks of Being a WallflowerStephen Chbosky
SavilleDavid Storey
Alice AdamsBooth Tarkington
Normal PeopleSally Rooney
New MoonStephenie Meyer
Girl with a Pearl EarringTracy ChevalierWritten by Tori Books for readers and students.