Review: THE OUTSIDERS National Tour Presented by Broadway In Chicago

The Outsiders remains an exhilarating and inventive musical adaptation of S.E. Hinton’s acclaimed 1967 novel. I enjoyed this tour so much on first viewing that I came back six months later! Director Danya Taymor’s original Broadway staging is faithfully recreated for this tour — with a fantastic ensemble cast that’s certainly Broadway caliber. Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance) and Justin Levine’s score fittingly combines contemporary Broadway and folk rock as it relays the story of 14-year-old narrator Ponyboy Curtis and his fellow Greasers. Adam Rapp and Justin Levine’s book remains economical, capturing some of the most iconic lines from Hinton’s novel while keeping the pacing taut. 

I love The Outsiders’ youthful and vibrant energy — this is a show for teens and about teens, but it’s sophisticated. The score and book allow the main characters to be fully realized and keenly developed through song. The Outsiders has some introspection — Ponyboy’s love of Charles Dickens and contemplation for his future sometimes makes him seem wise beyond his 14 years. But the working-class Greasers and the rival privileged group Socs’ decision to choose violence to resolve their perceived conflicts seems purely adolescent, immature, and impulsive. The violence is jarring — these two groups seem to make mountains out of molehills. 

The show honors Hinton’s original novel by taking that seriously — the second act rumble (gloriously choreographed by Rick and Jeff Kuperman) remains a visually arresting feat. It’s an original, thrilling, and captivating way to express sentiment in silence — a contrast from the songs that tell the rest of this story.

I remain deeply impressed by this touring cast. They rival any of the performers on Broadway. At the performance I saw on Thursday night, understudy Christian Arredondo stepped into the role of Ponyboy without hesitation. Though he does read older than 14 (a challenge for most actors playing Ponyboy — aside, perhaps, from the tour’s usual lead Nolan White), he hit all of his characters’ beats without pause. He also has a powerful voice, and he infused the slightest twang into Ponyboy’s vocals — a particularly astute choice for his big solo “Great Expectations.” 

Arredondo also had excellent rapport with Travis Roy Rogers and Corbin Drew Ross, who play Ponyboy’s older brothers Darrel and Sodapop, respectively. The brotherly bond feels so real and developed at this point. Rogers truly seems to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders as Darrel, forced to become a surrogate parent overnight after the death of the Curtis boys’ parents in a car accident. 

Ross is a standout in this cast — his Sodapop is absolutely hilarious and a welcome comedic break. The speaking voice he chose for the character is delightful and genuinely funny — and it’s so surprising when Ross then breaks into his pure and tuneful singing voice. 

Arredondo also has genuine stage chemistry with Bonale Fambrini, who plays Ponyboy’s best friend, Johnny Cade. Both on paper and on stage, these characters share a real bromance. And Fambrini once again made me tear up with his rendition of “Stay Gold,” Johnny’s deeply heartfelt 11 o’clock number.

The only subplot that still doesn’t work is the budding friendship/possible crush between Ponyboy and 16-year-old Soc Cherry Valance. I know that’s a core subplot from the novel, but it’s clunky. Ponyboy and Cherry don’t have a lick of chemistry on the page, and thus, neither do Arredondo and Emma Hearn (White and Hearn also didn’t when I saw the tour back in February). Ponyboy and Cherry’s duets “I Could Talk to You All Night” and “Hopeless War” lack specificity (particularly the latter), and it’s just hard to buy that these two would have a romantic connection given their age gap — and given how fully realized the other relationships are in the show.

Still, that’s a minor quibble in this otherwise engaging and inventive musical. I think the depth and specificity of the friendships emphasizes how the romantic subplot falls flat. 

This touring cast of The Outsiders’ really understands the assignment when it comes to camaraderie, both between biological family and chosen family. The Outsiders is really a celebration of male teen friendship, and this cast performs the material in a way that feels entirely fresh, lively, and gripping. 

The return Chicago engagement of The Outsiders national tour runs through August 16, 2026 at the Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 West Randolph. Tickets are $49.00 to $165.00, with a select number of premium, lottery, and rush tickets available.

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