The national tour of The Outsiders is a stunning production of an impressive musical. It is based on the 1967 novel of the same name by S. E. Hinton and the iconic film adaptation directed by Francis Ford Coppola.

The program has a credit with a word I had never seen before: “Scenography by AMP featuring Tatiana Kahvegian.” Microsoft’s Copilot AI defined scenography for me as “the comprehensive art of creating and organizing the visual aspects of a stage production. It encompasses the design and arrangement of sets, props, lighting, and sometimes costumes, working together to establish the mood, atmosphere, and environment for a performance.”

Scenography encapsulates the integration of visual elements that gives the storytelling extraordinary power in “The Outsiders.” Stunning moments result from the coordination of sets, props, lighting, projections, and choreography. For example, certain dance moves that would not have stood out under conventional lighting are dazzling thanks to strategically applied flashes of light.

The artists whose contributions worked integrally within the show are choreographers Rick Kuperman and Jeff Kuperman, costume designer Sarafina Bush, lighting designer Brian MacDevitt, sound designer Tony Cody Spencer, projection designer Hana S. Kim, special effects designers Jeremy Chernick and Lillis Meeh, hair and wig designer Alberto “Albee” Alvarado, makeup designer Tishonna Ferguson, and sound effects specialist Taylor Bense. Danya Taymor’s masterly direction ties everything together.

The Outsiders is set in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1960s. Ponyboy Curtis narrates his own coming-of-age story. He is a 14-year-old orphan who lives with his two older brothers, Darrel and Sodapop. Ponyboy hangs out on the city’s East side with a working-class gang called the Greasers. They are at odds with a West Side gang of well-to-do youths. The Greasers call their rivals the Socs (pronounced “Soshes”), because they live socialites.

The Greasers are at risk whenever they encroach on the Socs’ territory. The tensions boil over when Ponyboy attracts the attention of Cherry Valance, the Socs’ leader’s girlfriend, at a drive-in movie theater.

The show has an engaging book by Adam Rapp and an equally engaging score well suited to the show’s setting. The music and lyrics are by Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance) and Justin Levine.

The excellent cast includes Nolan White as Ponyboy Curtis, Bonale Fambrini as Johnny Cade, Tyler Jordan Wesley as Dallas Winston, Travis Roy Rogers as Darrel Curtis, Corbin Drew Ross as Sodapop Curtis, Emma Hearn as Cherry Valance, Jaydon Nget as Two-Bit, Mark Doyle as Bob, and Jackson Reagin as Paul. The fine band is conducted by music director Remy Kurs.

The Outsiders continues through January 18 at the Fox Theatre, 527 North Grand Boulevard.

—Gerry Kowarsky

Photo by Matthew Murphy
From the left, Cherry Valance (Emma Hearn) and Ponyboy Curtis (Nolan White) meeting at the drive-in in The Outsiders.