Kevin Taft — Theater Critic

Many things make “The Outsiders” so special. For one, the music by indie-folk duo Jamestown Revival and Justin Levine is beautiful and deeply empathetic. Adam Rapp’s book remains faithful to the source material. While its original incarnation in La Jolla felt a bit richer, the Broadway and touring version condenses some story points and musical numbers, occasionally making them feel a little more obvious and less nuanced. At times, a number or two could have been cut to tighten the running time, but the score’s beauty transcends any pacing issues.

Ultimately, the musical feels like it needed another round of development to become truly compelling. But when the source material itself is so middle-of-the-road (albeit enormously popular), there’s only so much that can be added. The scenic and lighting design are pleasant, the songs are momentarily catchy, and the show moves at a brisk pace that keeps you modestly engaged.

Ultimately, Stereophonic feels like a concept with enormous potential that never fully coalesces into a dramatically satisfying whole. What’s the message? What’s the theme? Beyond watching a band grapple with sudden fame and their oversized personalities, the show doesn’t seem to have much to say. For a play about music, identity, ego, and creation, it all sounds a bit… mono.

The cast is uniformly good, with the standouts being Blood, whose somewhat loony character has some of the show’s most emotional moments, Woods, the secret love of Nick’s life, and Manuel, the boxer with a heart of gold.