The Outsiders, currently playing at the Cadillac Theatre, is an amazing surprise as it trades in the book’s grim and melancholy mood for an upbeat and entertaining performance. The play contains all the same characters from the book with outstanding actors bringing them to life.
For those who aren’t familiar with The Outsiders, it follows 14 year old Ponyboy Curtis in Tulsa Oklahoma in 1967. The rival groups, the Greasers and the Socs, face off as they battle for dominance. A fight that ends in a death forces Ponyboy and his best friend, Johnny Cade, into hiding. They have to learn to live with the pain of loss as they face an unknown future.
Viewers follow the same story with Nolan White starring as Ponyboy Curtis. The music, along with the dance numbers and the creative makeshift sets, brings the play to life. While the story is heavy, the upbeat music, dancing and comic relief makes this production upbeat. The play also deals with death and violence in a non-gruesome way to avoid subjecting the audience to the highly graphic descriptions depicted in the book. The sets, although simple, were powerful and drew the audience in through sound and sight: as a church burned on stage, the crackle of wood on fire flooded the theater.
Nolan White and Bonale Fambrini nailed their parts making the audience believe they really were their characters. The elaborate musical numbers and dancing make this adaptation even better. I highly recommend seeing The Outsiders at the Cadillac Theatre next time you are in Chicago!
