The Cast and Creative Team of 'The Outsiders'
All Of It with Alison Stewart
The cast and creative team of the Tony-winning Broadway musical 'The Outsiders' join host Alison Stewart in a live event at WNYC's Greene Space. The performers—Noah Pacht, Caleb
Key takeaways
- Ponyboy's dual role as both a participant in the story and its narrator requires constant shifting between immersion and audience connection.
- The cast uses personal rituals—like choosing daily words of inspiration—to ground their performances and maintain emotional authenticity.
Main topics
- Behind-the-scenes life of a Broadway cast
- Character development in 'The Outsiders'
Notable quotes
I'm looking up and Newman's on the screen. The entire world just melts away.
My friend, stay gold.
Conclusion
The event highlights the emotional depth, dedication, and artistry required to sustain a Broadway
Transcript preview
Speaker 1 (0:06) This is All of It on WNYC. I'm Alison Stewart. Happy Friday. Later in the show, we'll continue our summer series of History Fridays with a deep dive into the life of Malcolm X. But for the next hour, we'll be revisiting our June Broadway on the Radio event with the cast of The Outsiders. And before we get there, I want to remind you of some exciting news we announced earlier this week. Broadway on the Radio is returning and our first event is on Friday, September 18th. We'll kick off our fall season with the 2026 Tony Award winner for Best Musical, Schmigadoon. Speaker 6 (0:42) Welcome to our little town, where Speaker 2 (0:45) friends are Speaker 6 (0:46) all you'll Speaker 2 (0:47) meet, and Speaker 6 (0:49) you will never see a friend, everyone. Hey, wondering what we call wonderful, magical place. Speaker 8 (1:13) What is happening? Who are they singing to? Speaker 3 (1:14) I don't know. It must be something they do for tourists. Oh, like Colonial Williamsburg. Speaker 1 (1:37) We'll be joined by creator Cinco Paul, plus cast members Sarah Chase, Anne Harada, Brad Oscar, and Malik Pancholi. They'll be here to perform live. We'll also be joined by brand new cast member and three-time Tony nominee Jennifer Simard. It's happening live in the WNYC Green Space on Friday, September 18th at 12 noon. You can get your tickets now by going to WNYC.org slash events. Now, to whet your appetite for more Broadway on the radio, here's The Outsiders live in the green space. The Outsiders won the 2024 Tony Award for Best Musical. Now, a few months ago, the cast had a major cast replacement. And if you haven't had a chance to see them, you will get to meet them today. We have on stage with us Noah Pax, Caleb Murtha, Sequoia, Dan Barry, Sutton James Taylor, and original cast member Emma Pittman. Speaker 1 (2:41) And behind them, let's hear it for the band. I want to give a shout out to the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment for featuring this month in the Radio City lineup of New York Music Month. Now, if you're not here with us in person or listening to us, you can see this shindig by going to WNYC.org. We can catch a live stream of today's broadcast. Now, to set the scene, here's the cast of Broadway's The Outsider singing Tulsa 67. Speaker 6 (3:45) Most people get stuck here for life My brother could have been a football star People say he had a ticket out My other brother suffers from a broken heart From a girl he loved who up and moved away Speaker 6 (4:13) We got no parents, we fend for ourselves. There's no one to show us the way. My brothers are trying, but they're always out just working their poor lives away. Speaker 6 (4:35) My name is Ponyboy, the youngest of the three. I know there's so much more to life than what's in front of me. So I sneak into the movies just to glimpse the other side. I'd rather take the risk and see it than to never even try. I'm looking up and Newman's on the screen. The entire world just melts away. Speaker 6 (5:07) And for a moment I'm not worried about a thing. I just sit back and let the movie starts play. But unlike in the movies and the books I like to read, nothing in this town plays out the same. Speaker 6 (5:28) They tell me it was different back when we could all agree. But somewhere down the line we lost our way. Great places to go, great things to do. So they took one town and they split it in two. All the money went west, kicked the grease to the east. The train ran down on the belly of the beast. Here we are now, what's a greaser from the east side supposed to do? 1967. Just one. Speaker 6 (6:38) That was Speaker 1 (6:48) The Outsiders. I want to talk to the Curtis brothers. Y'all get up ready. How are you? I'm wonderful. How are you? I'm doing well. Noah, how would you describe Ponyboy? Speaker 7 (7:03) Ponyboy is 14 years old. growing up in Tulsa in the 60s. And he's a dreamer, he's an artist, he's a writer. And he's sort of in this world where maybe people don't understand who he is and where he comes from. The greasers have to be tough. They're kind of poor. They're bullied by the socias. And so he's a young person trying to find his way in the world. When Speaker 1 (7:25) you come out on stage, you sit on that tire. What are you thinking about? as the show gets to start? Speaker 7 (7:30) That's a great question. Yeah, so before the show officially starts, I walk in from the back of the house. I get to kind of subtly connect with the audience and then climb on stage, sit on that tire, and I have a journal open. And we've kind of talked with our directors, with Donya Taymor and Autumn Miranda, who are our associate directors, about what that moment is. Speaker 7 (7:49) It has to be, the rule is you can write whatever you want if you're playing Ponyboy, but it just has to be something true. So like backstage before the show, our cast will come together and there's usually like, Emma has these cards that have a word on them. We'll pick a word of the day and that's sort of the anthem for the show. So usually I'll write something about that word, like simplicity or joy, you know, it's like something like that. Speaker 1 (8:11) Sutton, how would you describe Tony Boy's role in the family? Speaker 2 (8:15) Yeah, I play Soda Pop. So I'm the middle brother of the family. And he's described at the very beginning of the show as Soda Smiles all the time, even when he probably shouldn't. And so that's kind of what I take that and try to use that throughout the show to set a foundation for my character. But I really, it also is described, he's described as the heart and soul of the family and kind of is the emotional glue that keeps this. family together, particularly in the second act. He does a lot of maturing as the show goes on. And the song that we'll sing shortly is a big moment and turning point for Soda in the show. So, yeah. Speaker 1 (8:52) What advice would you give Soda at this point in his life? Speaker 2 (8:56) stop thinking about getting his heart broken because a lot of the show he's devastated from his ex-girlfriend who left town and I would say move on man you've got so much life to live so Speaker 1 (9:12) Daryl he's in a hard role man he's got to be parent to the whole family the parents have passed away what's interesting to you about his relationship with his brothers and then with the greasers as a whole Speaker 8 (9:25) Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, Daryl's role in the show is he's basically playing their parents, and he has to kind of raise them. I think, I don't know, I mean, I mean, what's the first part of that question? Speaker 1 (9:39) What is his relationship to his brothers and then to the greasers? Speaker 8 (9:42) Okay, well, to the greasers, because we already know he's the parents. So to the greasers, I think he's kind of like, he's trying to be the alpha. I think he was in charge, but I think because of the... the loss of his parents, he has to kind of step down from that role and be obviously a parent. So Dally has stepped forward and taken over that role. And him and Daryl don't get along about that and how he chooses to try to raise his brother. So, yeah. Speaker 1 (10:06) You know, a pony boy has to sort of narrate the show. How do you think about your performance differently when you're in the show versus narrating? Speaker 7 (10:15) Yeah, that's Speaker 1 (10:16) a Speaker 7 (10:16) great question because... there's a very thin line I ride between being in like every present moment in the scene and then being connected with the audience and breaking the fourth wall and explaining what's happening. And so I think that's kind of part of the fun of the show as an actor to get to really quickly shift between being in this world and being in this world. And so I think it's kind of like I always have one foot in both worlds and you can kind of see how the audience is, how they're ruminating with the show and try to... connect with the people on stage. So I think it's really just about the eyes. You find the eyes of whoever you're talking to and then the rest kind of happens naturally. Why Speaker 1 (10:50) do you think Soda Pop just doesn't let the two brothers fight it out? Ponyboy and Daryl. Speaker 2 (10:57) That's a good question. He does until he doesn't. I think, especially at the end of the show, once all of the events have unfolded, he kind of reaches a breaking point. And I think it's about, once again, being the glue of the family. And since they're so different from each other, I think soda is kind of what keeps us together in that sense. But why doesn't he let them... What was the exact phrase? Speaker 1 (11:27) Maybe because he loves him. Speaker 2 (11:28) Yeah, sure, because he loves him, yeah. That's Speaker 1 (11:31) what Speaker 2 (11:31) I Speaker 1 (11:31) thought, because he loves his brothers, you know? What's Daryl's biggest worry for Ponyboy? Speaker 8 (11:38) Oh, him not reaching the success that he knows he can get. I think, you know, Daryl and Soda Pop's lives were kind of put on halt, and I think Soda's more than okay with that, and I think Daryl understands his role, but I think for... Ponyboy, he still has so much ahead of him. He's the brightest, as we know. And yeah, I think he just kind of wants to not let his parents down. You know, I think that's a huge weight that he's been given.