Broadway's 'Outsiders' cast, crew make 'unicorn' Tulsa visit to explore musical's setting

TULSA — When Justin Levine was in seventh grade, he read Oklahoma novelist S.E. Hinton’s iconic book “The Outsiders” for the first time.

“That book meant so much because it was … the beginning of a journey of literature. But then also, I grew up in New York on Long Island, and it felt so different to me, like a world unlike my own. Yet, I found Ponyboy’s journey so relatable,” Levine told The Oklahoman.

“So, when I was called about working on this … it was a very quick ‘yes’ for me.”

A Tony Award winner for his work on “Moulin Rouge! The Musical,” Levine co-wrote the book and score for the new musical “The Outsiders,” debuting in spring on Broadway.

With rehearsals set to begin Thursday, Feb. 1 in New York City, members of the cast and creative team of “The Outsiders” musical — including Oscar winner Angelina Jolie, a lead producer on the show — made a Jan. 25-28 visit to Tulsa to explore the place where Hinton penned her iconic 1967 novel and Academy Award-winning director Francis Ford Coppola filmed his beloved 1983 movie adaptation.

“It’s the first time I've come (here) in this way; the last few times was when I was passing through and I was literally getting gas,” Tony nominee Adam Rapp, who co-wrote the book with Levine, told The Oklahoman during an interview Jan. 26 at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center.

“So, a lot of my experience has been reading about it and looking at photos. ... But I’m glad I’m here now because I can smell it and see the limestone buildings and the Art Deco stuff that we’ve been talking about.”

Who are the cast and creative team of the Broadway-bound ‘The Outsiders’ musical?

Like most Broadway shows, the musical adaptation of “The Outsiders” has been years in the making.

The stage version is based on both Hinton’s landmark coming-of-age novel, which has sold more than 15 million copies and been published in more than 30 languages, and Coppola’s iconic movie, which has only grown in popularity as a cult favorite over the past four decades.

Inspired by her experiences at Will Rogers High School, Susan "Susie" Eloise Hinton penned the tale of two rival Tulsa gangs — the poor Greasers and the privileged Socs (pronounced Soshs) — when she was still a teenager. She published "The Outsiders" under her initials to keep male reviewers from knowing she was a woman and immediately dismissing her work.

Like the book and film, “The Outsiders” musical is set in Tulsa in the 1960s and focuses on young Greaser Ponyboy Curtis, his two older brothers and their chosen family of “outsiders” struggling to survive in a world of haves and have-nots.

“A few years back was my first time here, because I just wanted to see it. And I ended up having lunch with Susie while I was here. … I reached out to her sort of in the blind; we had never met before,” Levine recalled.

“We ended up spending about three hours together, having a few martinis and getting to know each other — and it was incredible. It's funny, because we work in theater a lot, and you’re somewhat surrounded by people that you know from the movies or (who are) important figures. And I was probably the most nervous I think I've ever been.”

Along with penning the book alongside Rapp, Levine co-wrote the music and lyrics with musical theater newcomers Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance, also known as the Texas roots rock duo Jamestown Revival. Levine also is handling the show’s music supervision, arrangements and orchestrations.

The Original Broadway Cast Recording of “The Outsiders” is due to be released this year from Sony Masterworks Broadway.

Directed by Obie Award winner Danya Taymor, the show features choreography by Rick Kuperman and Jeff Kuperman.

As for the cast, Brody Grant is making his Broadway debut in the role of Ponyboy, while Sky Lakota-Lynch is returning to Broadway in the role of Johnny, Ponyboy’s best friend. Brent Comer makes his Broadway bow in the role of the eldest Curtis brother, Darrel, while Jason Schmidt is a Broadway newcomer playing the role of Sodapop, the middle Curtis brother.

When is ‘The Outsiders’ musical debuting on Broadway and how did Angelina Jolie get involved?

“The Outsiders” musical will begin its Broadway run with previews starting on March 16 ahead of the official opening night on April 11 at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre.

The show made its world premiere last year at the La Jolla Playhouse in California, where previews started on Feb. 19, with the official opening on March 4.

The show proved popular enough that an extra week was added to its world-premiere run.

Jolie was among those who fell in love with the show during its California debut, becoming a lead producer last year.

“I hope to be able to contribute while continuing to learn from this amazing team, who I have been working with since my daughter brought me to see the show at La Jolla Playhouse,” Jolie said in a statement last summer to The Associated Press. “I can’t begin to express how excited I am for this musical to make its Broadway debut and look forward to sharing this new adaptation of ‘The Outsiders’ with the world.”

What did ‘The Outsiders’ cast and crew do during their Tulsa visit?

Oklahoma City native Laura Galt, who is a co-producer on the show and has been involved in its development since 2018, visited Tulsa with the rest of the creative team and cast.

“One of my ultimate things has been, ‘How can I bring Oklahoma into the fold?’ because this story is about Oklahoma. There's also opportunities to include Oklahoma in it and just build that Oklahoma pride,” said Galt, a Bishop McGuinness High School alumnus now based in Austin, Texas, who was previously a producer on the Tony-nominated Broadway musical “The Prom," in a Jan. 26 interview.

"This is a unicorn: It's not often that a cast and creative team from a Broadway show gets to come visit the place where the narrative takes place. … It just makes me so happy that they’re actually here.”

She said the Tulsa Office of Film, Music, Arts & Culture, Visit Tulsa and Cherokee Nation were instrumental in facilitating the trip to Tulsa.

While in Tulsa, Galt said the cast and creative team members visited Hinton’s alma mater, Will Rogers High School, as well as the Outsiders House Museum, where the author and Danny Boy O’Connor, the museum’s founder and executive director, joined them for a tour of the filming-location-turned-tourist-attraction.

Jolie and her teenage daughter, Vivienne Jolie-Pitt, whom the star has reportedly hired as her assistant on the project, joined the group at the Outsiders House Museum.

A founding member of hip-hop hitmakers House of Pain, O’Connor told The Oklahoman that he attended “The Outsiders” musical with Hinton during its California run and is looking forward to the show’s Broadway bow.

“We both loved it. I'd never been to a musical before in my life and had no idea what to expect,” he said in a fall interview.

“With it going to Broadway, very soon we're gonna get a whole new bunch of kids who are just discovering this legacy for the first time.”

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Cast and crew for 'The Outsiders' visit Tulsa to explore setting