The cast and crew of the Kearsley’s Drama Club invites you on Friday, February 16th at 7 p.m. and Saturday, February 17th at 2 p.m. to see The Outsiders in Kearsley’s Auditorium.
Tickets are five dollars at the door and concessions will be available for purchase.
In almost every middle school in America, you could ask an 8th grader, “So have you ever read The Outsiders?”
The majority will give a yes, often full of excitement. The Outsiders is a coming-of-age novel written by Susan Eloise Hinton, commonly known as just S.E Hinton. The story is set in the 1960s and comments on the social standings of people in Tusla, Oklahoma. The play follows Ponyboy Curtis, his best friend Johnny Cade, and their gaggle of friends experiencing the familiar themes of the poor East Side (greasers) versus the wealthy West Side (socials), being unsure of yourself, and dealing with loss. These themes are sure to tug on the heartstrings of all readers.
Hinton wrote this book when she was just fifteen years old, publishing it at eighteen, and swept the young-adult fiction world as quickly as it came out. Young adults everywhere could find pieces of themselves in this book’s characters and their struggles.
This year’s student director, Samantha Springsteen, decided to take on the challenge of putting this book on the stage. The novel was adapted into a playwright by Christoper Sengel in 1990, and as soon as Springsteen saw it they quickly added it to the list of ideas.
When asked where the idea came from, they said, “It was hard deciding on a play to do this year, but I came across The Outsiders and immediately fell in love with the idea. Since they had us all read it in 8th grade I thought it would be a great way to pull in people to come and watch it.”Springsteen wanted to appeal to the nostalgia factor many students would seek out, similar to what the last two years of drama club have done. In the 2021/2022 school year, Drama put on their showing of The Crucible, and in 2022/2023 they decided to put on The Great Gatsby. Each of these are books students read during their high school years here at Kearsley.
These stories hold a special place in every student’s heart, for some it was the first time they felt seen, for others it was what got them into reading, for some it was simple enjoyment and an easy grade. Both shows accumulated almost full houses, and this year is hopes to be no different.
Once Springsteen put up the official announcement for the show, the entire club buzzed with enthusiasm.
Sophomore, Toby Laube shared his thoughts, “I was very excited about the outsiders being our play…I loved the book and the whole story.” Laube was cast as Bob, the main soc [ social ] antagonist of the greasers.
Many students found themselves agreeing, some taking the time to reread the story and relearn everything there was to know about the characters. Junior, Ava Salem elaborated on what excited her, explaining, “I knew there would be some cool roles I could audition for, especially thinking about the outfits and how well some of our peers would be able to fit into the roles.”
Salem takes on the role of Randy, one she was hoping to get, the best friend of Bob.
Laube and Salem make up a perfect dynamic duo on stage, bouncing off each other with skilled chemistry and intimidating lines as they rough up the greaser cast. Scenes like this, the fights, the rough-ups, and the arguments were Springsteen’s favorite to be involved with.
“They are my favorite because it was my first time ever choreographing a scene like that.” Which is by means no easy task.
Scenes like this take a lot out of the actors, especially after doing it for five very long months.
Plenty of work has gone into this play, there has been blood, sweat, and tears across the Kearsley stage. The Outsiders is a tale of a found family realizing there is good in the world, and the people behind this show are no different.
A family has been created on the Kearsley stage, this show has helped many of them grow as individuals and as performers.
The cast and crew of this show hope to see you there!
