‘The Outsiders’ Broadway review: Like many adaptations, it overexplains

Those familiar with SE Hinton’s novel The Outsiders or Francis Ford Coppola’s film adaptation (as many in this country do) know that the story takes place in Tulsa in 1967 and revolves around two rival gangs. : Greasers and Socialists unfold. Their climax, the rain-soaked rumble of the show, was punctuated only by the thumps of fists and kicks that viciously hit their target, angry grunts and groans of agony. Rick and Jeff Cooperman’s fight and action choreography are complemented by Brian McDevitt’s stark lighting and Cody Spencer’s imaginative sound design.

Similar creativity appears throughout, albeit on a smaller scale, as a few tires and planks of wood are enough for us to see characters jump on a freight train. One major misstep is the burning down of an abandoned church, a key scene that can be confusing if you don’t know what to expect. (Scenic design by AMP Collective, featuring Tatiana Kahvegian.)

So, yes, “The Outsider” does stand out from a visual standpoint. When the character opens his mouth, it falters.

Adapted by Adam Rapp (The Voice Within) and Justin Levine (who also composed the score with folk-rock duo Jamestown Revival), the show follows closely the framework of the novel. Both shows center on the 14-year-old narrator Ponyboy (Brody Grant), who has been living with his older brothers Sodapop (Jason Schmidt) and Darrel (Brent Grant) since the death of his parents. Comer) lives together.

The siblings are “Greaseers,” a bunch of misfits who proudly live on the wrong side of the tracks. Their enemies, the wealthy socialites (short for “socialites”), have “better clothes, better cars, and better lives,” as Ponyboy explains in the introductory episode “Tulsa ’67” That way, the show lays down the setting and stakes in a heap of homespun exposition.

Here’s the problem: This show always overexplains everything. Hinton knows exactly how much to say and when to say it—the paperback edition of “The Outsider” has just 180 concise, evocative pages that let us discover things along with Ponyboy. Here, both the book and the song tend to underestimate the intelligence of the audience. (This is surprising from Rapp, who is generally not afraid of ambiguity.)

For example, the novel’s Darrell is a distant cipher for much of the story, which makes Ponyboy’s realization of how much his brother loves him all the more poignant. Elsewhere, on stage, Darrell detailed the emotional weight he carried early on in “Running in the Family,” one of several “I Want” numbers that dotted the show — ending with In case we didn’t understand the first time, or the fifth, behind the bravado, these are sensitive children who crave love and stability. Even “Queen of Society” Cherry (Emma Pittman) shares some of the domestic turmoil.

Most troubled are Johnny (Skye Lakota-Lynch), a shy teen who is Ponyboy’s brother, and the boys’ friend and protector Dallas (Joshua Boone) . Originally an unpredictable loose cannon, Dally (as his friends call him) is now a dignified knight in black leather, and Boone gives him a warm voice and steady gravitas. The character’s background and dreams were developed over the course of the show, perhaps to make him less opaque as Darrell – as if the audience would lose interest without a backstory told by hand.

But this backfires, reducing the suspense and tension of a story in which violence is either central or background. Not that you’d know that from a soundtrack that’s overly reliant on cookie-cutter folk-pop ballads, which lack dramatic weight and can feel redundant. For example, after Johnny kills a Socrates (Kevin William Paul) in an intense stage scene, he and Ponyboy immediately break into a song called “Running Man,” which The song first repeats what we just saw, but to much less effect. A musical whose sonic narrative always pales in comparison to its visual narrative runs into some problems.

outsider, now playing at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theater in New York. Duration: 2 hours and 30 minutes, including intermission. outsider music network.