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The Outsiders
Adapted by Christopher Sergel. From the book by S.E. Hinton.
Product Code: O41000
Full-length Play
Drama
Cast size: 10m., 8w., extras as desired.
Limited Streaming Rights Available
Rights and availability
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Synopsis
S.E. Hinton, who wrote this modern classic when she was 16 years old, comments: "The Outsiders, like most things I write, is written from a boy's point of view. That's why I'm listed as S.E. Hinton rather than Susan. (I figured most boys would look at the book and think 'What can a chick know about stuff like that!') None of the events are taken from life, but the rest—how kids think and live and feel—is for real. The characters—Dallas, who wasn't tough enough; Sodapop, the happy-go-lucky dropout; Bob, the rich kid whose arrogance cost him his life; Ponyboy, the sensitive, green-eyed Greaser who didn't want to be a hood—they're all real to me. Many of my friends are Greasers, but I'm not. I have friends who are rich, too, but nobody will ever call me a Soc—I've seen what money and too much idle time and parental approval can do to people. Cool people mean nothing to me—they're living behind masks and I'm always wondering "Is there a real person underneath?" This entirely practical stage adaptation deals with real people, seen through the eyes of young Ponyboy, a Greaser on the wrong side of life, caught up in territorial battles between the have-it-made rich kids—the Socs—and his tough, underprivileged "greaser" family and friends. In the midst of urban warfare, somehow Ponyboy can't forget a short poem that speaks of their fragile young lives:
Nature's first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower; But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf. So Eden sank to grief,
so dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay.
"Robert Frost wrote it," Ponyboy tells Johnny. "I always remembered it because I never quite got what he meant by it." Cherry, a beautiful Soc, comes to share a special sensitivity with Ponyboy as she discovers that he remembers poems and needs to watch sunsets. At the same time, Cherry's attracted to the older, tougher Dallas, and in a sense she's caught in the violent space between the Greasers and the Socs. While the Socs appear to have everything, the only thing a Greaser has is his friends. As these young people try to find themselves and each other, as the sadness of sophistication begins to reach them and their battles and relationships reach a resolution, Ponyboy's dying friend, Johnny, sends him a last message … I've been thinking about the poem that guy wrote. He meant you're gold when you're a kid, like green. When you're a kid everything's new, dawn. It's just when you get used to everything that it's day. Like the way you dig sunsets, Pony. That's gold. Keep it that way. It's a good way to be. This is a play about young people who are not yet hopeless about latent decency in the midst of struggle.
Notes
Limited Streaming Rights Available
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Details
- Status In stock
- Type of Show Full-length Play
- Product Code O41000
- Minimum Cast Size 18
- Pages of Dialogue 75
- Min. Royalty Rate $110.00/perf
- Approx. Run Time 120 min
- Staging Area staging.
Categories
- Target Audience Middle School | High School | College and Adult
- Performing Group Middle School | High School | College Theatre | Community Theatre | Professional Theatre | TYA
- Genre Drama
- ISBN(13) 9780871292773
Customer Reviews
The Outsiders is a great play for middle school or high-school students to perform. The kids really care about the characters and the situations in the show.
The Outsiders powerfully presents the problems and issues faced by young people. Kaukauna High School's production with simple area staging and stark lighting focused on the feelings and emotions of the characters.
This is an extremely popular novel studied in many English classes, so performing the play at our school was a great experience for the cast and student audience. It was perfect for schoolwide observance of "Bullying Prevention Week" November 15-19.
The Outsiders is very well written and young people just love it ... both those in the cast and those in the audience. Many good roles to create an excellent ensemble.
The script is smart, fast-paced and faithful to the original novel. What a wonderful way to introduce a timeless piece of Americana to a new generation.
This is a very powerful and timely piece. The characters are clear and believable. The use of memory adds an interesting element to the production. Many of our audience were in tears at the end. It contains a message that is important for our times.
The Outsiders is a classic yet contemporary story. This adaptation allows for a simple set and can accommodate a large cast. Audiences love the characters and so did the actors! I felt the cast really understood the message and brought it to life in this play.
Excellent choice for middle-school audiences; great show to feature talented young performers, particularly males. Material is easy to relate to and show is relatively easy to produce.
Well written and relatable to students. My students loved these roles and were very sad when the production closed. The audience reaction was amazing! A standing ovation at each performance.
This was definitely the best show I've ever worked on. The story brings the best out of every actor, director, and crew member. With a workable script to make it anything you want there is nothing short of greatness in this script!
The Outsiders is a great adaptation of S. E. Hinton's novel. It is told through the eyes of Ponyboy, who moves the story along at a good pace. The show moves quickly and is very easy to stage. It is a great show for your young men with a variety of experience!
I saw the play performed years ago in Texas and knew I'd like to direct it someday. It is faithful to the novel and was written for high school students to be performed in a high school setting. Our school had never done a drama beforeÑour audiences loved it!
A beautiful coming of age story that any generation can relate to.
It went over very well. The drama played well to a wide age range and we had many positive comments. This adaptation represented Hinton's work very well and the action moved quickly.
This piece was beautiful -- in the last days of production and the first time I read it, it brought tears to my eyes. The students enjoyed a story with which they were familiar and a script to which they could truly connect.
The Outsiders was a versatile and well-written script for my students to perform. They had not performed a stage play in years at my school, and these students were able to learn so much of the basic acting skills from the versatility of the script.
The play, Outsiders, is a great adaptation of the book. The characters are strong and play well by high school aged students. My students loved bringing one of their beloved novels to the stage.
From read-through we fell in love with this script. We decided to tell the story through lighting and acting and keep the set minimalistic!! Best decision ever!!!
This staged version of THE OUTSIDERS is outstanding! The adaptation perfectly captures the personalities and events of Hinton's novel. My students and our audiences were moved to tears by the characters and their stories as they were portrayed on stage.
Hints, Tips, and Tricks
This show really works well in a thrust/blackbox theatre. Get the audience up close and personal to the action!
A minimum of scenery and props are needed as the characters carry the story so well.
We were able to use a very basic stage set & only 2 spot lights with this show easily. Considering that is all we have in this program, we were very thankful.
Creative lighting is a godsend for this show, making scenes that challenge "realistic" staging into something artful and riveting.
Use a real fence to crawl under for the drive-in. Also, when Ponyboy goes into soliloquy, we recorded those at a studio and played them as voice overs.
Keep the set as simple as possible. Lighting makes this show... use "specials" to focus on the different areas of action.
It takes imagination and work, but adapt the staging for surround-theatre. Seat the audience facing a wide centre aisle and stage the rumble right there. Wow! Create a "cheer" for Greasers and Socs and get the audience to participate.
For the fire scene, you can accomplish a lot with very little. Blackout completely with the exception of red, yellow and orange lights filtering offstage. Add a fog machine and a few crackling sound effects and you are in great shape!
Everyone on stage froze while Pony was speaking.
Production Map
| Location | City | State | Opens | Closes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stage Left Productions | Glendale | AZ | 06/05/2025 | 06/14/2025 |
| Lone Star College-Montgomery | Conroe | TX | 06/26/2025 | 06/28/2025 |
| The Varsity Center | Carbondale | IL | 07/11/2025 | 07/20/2025 |
| Theatre in the Park at Lincoln's New Salem State Historic Site | Petersburg | IL | 08/21/2025 | 08/24/2025 |
| Theatre In The Park | Petersburg | IL | 08/21/2025 | 08/24/2025 |
| North Platte High School | North Platte | NE | 09/25/2025 | 09/28/2025 |
| Merryman Performing Arts Center | Kearney | NE | 09/25/2025 | 09/30/2025 |
| Ponderosa High School | Parker | CO | 10/02/2025 | 10/04/2025 |
| VFW | San Marcos | TX | 10/17/2025 | 10/17/2025 |
| The Sauk | Jonesville | MI | 10/16/2025 | 10/26/2025 |
| Mt Brook High Sch | Mountain Brook | AL | 10/23/2025 | 10/26/2025 |
| De Smet Jesuit High School Thomas S. Hunter Theatre | Creve Coeur | MO | 10/30/2025 | 11/02/2025 |
| Dickson County High School | Dickson | TN | 11/06/2025 | 11/09/2025 |
| Kunsmiller Creative Arts Academy | Denver | CO | 11/13/2025 | 11/14/2025 |
| Santa Cruz High | Santa Cruz | CA | 11/07/2025 | 11/15/2025 |
| Lake Orion Community High School | Lake Orion | MI | 11/20/2025 | 11/22/2025 |
| Main Street Theater at the MATCH | Houston | TX | 01/23/2026 | 02/22/2026 |
| The Eagle Theatre | Sugar Hill | GA | 02/27/2026 | 02/28/2026 |
| Maine West High School | Des Plaines | IL | 04/23/2026 | 04/25/2026 |
| Lake Howell High School | Winter Park | FL | 10/01/2025 | 04/30/2026 |
| Rylander Theater | Americus | GA | 05/06/2026 | 05/10/2026 |
Downloads
| File Description | File Format | |
|---|---|---|
| Performance Poster | Download |
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Gallery
The Outsiders - Byng Public School, Ada, OK
The Outsiders-Ascension Academy, Amarillo, TX
The Outsiders - Notre Dame High School, West Haven, CT
The Outsiders - Christianburg High School, Christianburg, VA
The Outsiders - First Colonial HS, Virginia Beach, VA
The Outsiders - Triton Arts, Byfield, MA
The Outsiders - Grimes High School, Grimes, IA
Also By These Authors
Susan Kahn, Norwell High School, Ossian, Ind.