Take a Deep Dive Into How S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders Became This Year's Tony-Winning Best Musical

The Outsiders, the new Broadway musical based on the novel by S.E. Hinton and the 1983 film, won the Award for Best Musical at the 77th Annual Tony Awards on June 16.

It wasn't a sure thing. In the leadup to the night, a number of outlets predicted a win for Hell's Kitchen, while on the night itself Suffs picked up awards for Best Book and Best Score.

"Susie Hinton wrote The Outsiders 60 years ago," said Matthew Rego, a producer on the musical, accepting the Tony. "But she often says that she still gets overwhelmed when told that The Outsiders changed someone's life, because she'll say, 'Who am I to change anyone's life? It's the book; it's not the author. It's the message, not the messenger. Well, Susie, I'm here to tell you that your story and its eternal message of love and family and staying gold has forever changed all of our lives. We love you; thank you."

The musical—currently playing at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, with a national tour set for fall 2025—won a total of four awards throughout the evening, including Best Direction of a Musical for Danya Taymor, niece of The Lion King director Julie Taymor.

So how did the musical about angsty adolescents in Oklahoma become this year's Best Musical winner? Broadway.com has had insiders' access to The Outsiders since the beginning of its Broadway journey. Here's a roundup of our favorite stories and coverage of the show.

At the beginning of the year, Tony nominee Brody Grant, who plays the lead role of Ponyboy Curtis, was one of Broadway.com's choices for Ones to Watch. In a wide-ranging conversation with Broadway.com Editor-in-Chief Paul Wontorek, he spoke about his journey so far—including playing Frank Abagnale Jr. in a school production of Catch Me If You Can—and his career aspirations. He also shared his acting idols growing up: “I was such a little Broadway nerd,” he said. “You have your acting heroes like [Leonardo] DiCaprio and Paul Newman and James Dean. But then you also have your stage heroes like Aaron Tveit and Jeremy Jordan." 

In February, the principal cast members assembled for Broadway.com's dynamic Spring Preview photo shoot and fielded a series of questions about themselves and their characters. Jason Schmidt, who plays middle Curtis brother Sodapop in the show, was forthcoming about his own outsider status in real life: "Now, in each room I go into I look for the person that feels out of place and I try to invite them in. I’ve been that person."

One of the highlights of the Tonys ceremony was the cast's performance of the epic rumble, the rain-soaked gang fight between the Greasers and the Socs. Choreographers Rick and Jeff Kuperman and Taymor spoke to Broadway.com about bringing the show-stopping moment to life. “This rumble, it’s raw, it’s dirty, it’s chaotic,” said Jeff.

Danya Taymor, the Tony-winning director of The Outsiders, recently spoke to The Broadway Show about drawing on her own trauma for the stage adaptation of this story: When she was 13, one of her friends committed suicide. “[Hinton] was unstinting and the effects of violence on the lives of young people," she said. “I think that if I had had The Outsiders in my life in this form, it would have been healing and helped me through that period of time.”

Earlier in the year, S.E. Hinton (Susie to her friends) spoke to Wontorek about more than 50 years of The Outsiders, including the beginnings of the novel: “I came home and began what I thought was going to be a short short story about a kid who was beaten up on his way home from the movies," she said.

Adam Rapp, who adapted Hinton's book for the show, spoke to Broadway.com about his objectives: "I wanted it to have almost operatic extremes," he said. "I wanted this world to be as brutal as it is tender, as bleak as it is beautiful; we needed to fill in all the extremes, because that’s what being 14, 15 and 16 is like."

Since April, Emma Pittman, who plays sensitive cheerleader Cherry Valance, has been vlogging behind the scenes for The Broadway Show. The series, Call Me Cherry, covers everything from the recording of the cast album to the cast's fantasy boyfriends.

That month, Broadway.com joined the cast, creatives and special guests for the show's big opening night, taking over the stage of the Jacobs Theatre for a spectacularly cinematic photo shoot.

Most recently, Joshua Boone, who plays Dallas Winston, the charismatic leader of the Greasers, spoke to Broadway.com about being a first-time Tony nominee. "I just want new,” he said, outlining his career objectives. “I want fresh. I want further. I want more. I want deeper." Clearly, the Tony voters found all that in The Outsiders, which, in a season packed with new musicals, clinched the gold.