From the Page to the Stage: Spotlight on “The Outsiders”

Vivian Zhou and Edwin Salisbury • December 6, 2024

For most students, they are first introduced to S.E. Hinton’s novel in 7th Grade (shout out to Ms. Chase!). The Outsiders, based on the novel, is a coming-of-age play that explores the lives of two rival groups in 1960s America: the Greasers and the Socs. The Greasers–from the poorer side of town–struggle with societal challenges and familial issues, while the Socs–the wealthy kids–represent privilege and social power. The story is told through the eyes of Ponyboy Curtis (Onyx Kukuy ‘27), a Greaser who grapples with his identity and the violence surrounding him. When a confrontation between the two groups escalates into violence, Ponyboy and his friends are forced to deal with the consequences and confront the deep social divide that keeps the Socs and Greasers apart.

Directed by Mr. Spitzfaden, the cast started rehearsal in late August and in the process of 2 months, created a deeply moving performance that brought many to tears as they watched it: “The end of productions are always bittersweet because I know I’m going to miss working on them and it’s sad to see them go, but I’m excited to work on the next one.” Charlotte Norwood ‘27 (Lightning Director)

This was Mr. Spitz’s third year directing the Fall Show, and it was an incredibly emotional show. Projecting emotions onto the audience without using dialogue was a powerful choice, as it indicated the importance of memory and relationships.

In contrast to last year’s take on Grease, this production combines sound cues, background music, projection, multicolor lighting, and LED light bars to deliver a technologically impressive and immersive experience. There’s no rotating turntable but it’s clear the set had some leftover inspiration from the minimalist style as it uses plain curves and sweeping shapes to help convey the setting. This set design built by Mr. Cramer and his tech theater class was a fantastic way of showing different settings in a play that did not have scene changes written into it.

Many cast members look back at their experiences with good memories:

Sara Ochoa ‘26 who played Darry Curtis remarked:
“At the beginning of the school year, I wasn’t planning to audition for The Outsiders. I had been going through a stage in my life filled with self-doubt and anxiety, and when I told Mr. Spitz and my friends my plan to do tech, they didn’t believe me. They began to try to convince me to join The Outsiders, promising that they would support me no matter if I stayed on stage or not. I eventually chose to be on stage and face my fears head-on. With work, I was able to develop tools to calm myself down, and I can say with full confidence that choosing to be on stage, and in turn choosing to trust my friends, Mr. Spitz, and most importantly myself, has proven to be the best decision of my life so far.”

Eve Freyou ‘25 who played Dallas Winston comments:

“Wow, my last Fall play!! This was such a crazy experience. I mean, it is incredibly fulfilling and exciting, but also I’m slightly heartbroken. I remember being the one (along with Psalm) who initially pitched the show to Mr. Spitz, and I knew we’d get it. The cast was basically prepared to do the show even before the end of the year. I’m so proud of everyone who was involved, both cast and crew. I hope we impacted people in the audience and within our group. I know I was impacted. I love everyone involved so much, and I can’t wait to see how y’all grow when I come back from college to see the shows! This show really helped me out in my personal life, and I’m so happy we successfully made such an amazing show. Thank you to the cast, the crew, and every audience member who came to see the show. See you all in Hadestown…”

For me, this show was very special because it was my first time Stage Managing. Because I was Assistant Stage Manager in a handful of shows in the past, I knew the premise of what to do but it was still very exciting to have the role of Stage Manager. I loved working on the headset and being able to talk to Mr. Cramer, Zolia, Charlotte (in the booth), and William (managing projections in the wing in front of me) to direct cues. Even though we didn’t need a huge on-stage cue due to the show’s lack of scene changes and quick changes, we still had a great pre-show crew that helped us set up the set and get the props ready beforehand. It’s such a talented cast who work so well together. I am always in awe when I see Evie, Sara, and Onyx on stage together. They can convey so many emotions and act off each other, it’s truly beautiful. The Fall Show is so amazing in that it allows so many talented people to express themselves through their character and I’m so honored to be a part of it.