Hinton’s tale of class war between the working-class Greasers and the upper-middle-class Socs.
Both Levine and Rapp first discovered the book in school as teenagers.
“We were readingThe Catcher in the Ryefor a Great Books class.
The cast of ‘The Outsiders’ on Broadway.Miller Mobley
But I had to find something else to read.”
I couldn’t put it down.
I felt like I was stowing away with it on a ship.
Brody Grant as Ponyboy Curtis in ‘The Outsiders’.Miller Mobley
I think it was the first novel I read that was genuinely pleasurable."
Levine adds, “I readThe Outsidersin eighth grade in Mrs. LaFemina’s English class.
It truly ignited my lifelong love of literature.”
Sky Lakota-Lynch as Johnny Cade in ‘The Outsiders’.Miller Mobley
Director Danya Taymor (Pass Over), however, first encountered the story through the musical.
“I felt like the Greasers were beautifully inarticulate,” Rapp reflects.
“All these restless hearts and blue-collar bravado and tenuous dreams.
Jason Schmidt and Daryl Tofa in ‘The Outsiders’.Miller Mobley
Philosophically that made a lot of sense to me.”
Through the project’s development, the entire team kept Hinton’s book as their guiding light.
Most importantly, the iconic line “Stay gold, Ponyboy” retains its place in the story.
Emma Pittman as Cherry Valance in ‘The Outsiders’.Miller Mobley
“It’s a powerful moment between best friends, and it needs no additional help from us!”
Still, they wanted to be careful not to overplay their hand and make it too much of athing.
“I actually think we’re pretty subtle about the phrase’s first utterance,” Rapp says.
Joshua Boone and Brent Comer in ‘The Outsiders’.Miller Mobley
No one on the creative team wanted it to come off as cheesy or easy.
It’s a powerful phrase that lives on hats and T-shirts.
Kids write it in their schoolbooks.
So we couldn’t not go there.
I think we saved it for the best possible moment."
Perhaps Taymor sums it up best.
“Susie’s novel has been our North Star throughout this process,” she concludes.
Check out the photos above for more.The Outsidersbegins previews March 16.
