The Outsiders is Emotionally Charged and Riveting at The Fabulous Fox

 

–by Ashley Cox

 

Wednesday night started with a quick swing by Winslow’s Table in U City for an oat milk mocha before heading over to The Fabulous Fox for the musical adaptation of S.E. Hinton’s “The Outsiders”. This is the first touring production of the musical since its Tony awarding winning debut on Broadway in 2024. The novel and musical follows 14-year-old Ponyboy (emotionally captured by Nolan White) in 1967 Tulsa where society is becoming more clearly defined as the Haves, called Socs (short for Socialites) and the Haves-Nots, called Greasers for their slicked hairdos.

Ponyboy and his brothers are greasers who are orphaned. The stress of becoming the primary breadwinner is wearing on oldest Brother Darrell which allows the intelligent and gifted Ponyboy to be sucked further into the dangerous gang life of the greasers. Tensions are extra high as the Socs, lead by Mark Doyle playing the delightfully hate-able Bob, have attacked and permanently maimed Ponyboy’s best friend Johnny Cade, played by Bonale Fambrini. White and Fambrini have amazing vocal chemistry as seen in “Death’s at My Door” and “Stay Gold.” “Great Expectations” and Tyler Jordan Wesley’s, as Dallas, solo “Little Brother” were the best songs of the night for me, especially Wesley’s falsetto during “Little Brother.”

The choreography for both the dance and fight scenes cannot go without mention. Mixed with innovative lighting and an evocative use of blood, a never-ending class war between the Socs and Greasers is deftly brought to life out of the novel. “Trouble” captures the ultimate rumble between the Greasers and Socs through dance, lighting, fight moves, blood, and most uniquely, rain. I have never seen water used in such a way for a touring show.

You can stay gold with The Outsiders until January 18th. Young children may be scared by the realistic use of the blood. The show also contains references to domestic violence, and murder is a large part of the plot, as well. The book is on many middle school syllabi (my heavily annotated copy sadly succumbed to a basement flood) and that would be my recommended minimum age. The next in the 2025-2026 Broadway series is “Alicia Keys’ Hell’s Kitchen” opening January 27th. “The Phantom of the Opera“ then takes residence at the Fox starting February 20th.