The Outsiders

As most of you know, based on my most recent posts, I just went to New York City. It was incredible, and when someone asks what my favorite part of the trip was, I always have the same answer: 'the shows'. In total, we went to see three NYC shows (2 on Broadway and 1 off Broadway). Aladdin on Broadway was our first show of the trip. It was phenomenal, and I had enjoyed it so much more than I thought I would. The second show was my personal favorite: The Heathers. For those who don't recognize that show, I like to refer to it as "Mean Girls on crack," but there is honestly so much more to it than that. This was our off-Broadway show, and I honestly didn't mind. The last show that we saw, we bought tickets at a TKTS booth the night before. It was the Outsiders. We were specifically excited for this one because I had just read the book for school, and my younger sister would do the same soon. Now I have not just read the book, not just watched the movie, and not just enjoyed the musical, but done all three. Today, we'll be exploring my opinions on each different medium and how they compare to one another.

Before we get into which was better, I'll briefly discuss the plot. In 1967, Tulsa, Oklahoma, there were two groups: The Greasers and the Socs. The Socs got their name from being "Socialites". They have more money and live on the West side of town. The Greasers, who live on the East side, got their name from all the grease they put in their hair to act tough and tuff. They are rougher and have less money, but much more of a community. Ponyboy Curtis, a greaser in this town, finds peace in reading, watching movies, and staring at sunsets. These are all things a Greaser would normally find weak. After Ponyboy starts talking to a Soc girl, Cherry Valance, a group of Soc guys follow him and his friend to jump him. When they start fighting, they attempt to kill Ponyboy, and Ponyboy's friend kills one of the Socs to save Ponyboy. From then on, they ran away, far away from Tulsa. I won't say anything further, so I don't spoil the book! Alright, then!

Firstly, let's discuss the book. I read the book before I watched the movie or musical adaptations. I read it for school in ELA, and I really enjoyed it. My teacher said that it was most kids' favorite assigned book for 8th grade. I can understand why (although mine was To Kill a Mockingbird). I loved this book, though. It felt real, and it was real for many people who grew up then. S.E. Hinton said that she wanted to write a story that felt more like her own high school experience, rather than the books about Prom Queens and Football Stars. I would say she did just that. While there weren't Greasers and Socs, there was absolutely a class divide. She translated that page after page. The book was so layered and explored many heavy topics and writing styles. This is why books are so often my favorite. They have an amount of character development and layering that is just impossible to recreate in one to two hours.

As a class, we watched the movie adaptation of The Outsiders after we had finished the book. The movie was honestly pretty good. Our teacher had us write down notes while the movie played to compare book versus movie observations. Obviously, movies translate emotions differently from books. They use sound cues, inflection, and set pieces to translate whether this is a happy or anxious moment. A book, on the other hand, can use figurative language, characters' reactions/observations, and dialogue to convey an emotion. I personally tend to prefer how books display these types of feelings, but I do have to say that this movie presented emotions beautifully. I can say that the setting was very much what I expected, and everyone pretty much looked as I expected them to. I appreciate this in a movie because, more often than not, I find movies that make characters look nothing like how the book describes them. The movie was good, and for those who don't enjoy reading (I don't know why you're on this blog), I would recommend at least watching the movie, but the book was better. The book is almost always better. I would honestly recommend both, though, and see how they compare!

Most recently, my family went to see The Outsiders on-Broadway. It was beautiful, and I honestly loved the music. If you are a musical theater nerd like me, you honestly need to listen to the album. One of my closest theater friends consistently says that this is her favorite musical of all time (and I can see why). I love it, and it does convey the same feelings and emotions. I will say, with this performance, they changed quite a bit compared to the original. The movie hardly changed anything, and it seemed to be a direct translation, but the musical made several major changes. I didn't really mind the changes, and they still made sense with the plot, but it did surprise me to see the change. This show premiered a few years ago on Broadway and is still performing to this day. Additionally, we were able to see the original cast member for Cherry Valance (the Soc girl), Emma Pittman. The musical was also very well done and impressive. It didn't quite beat the book in my opinion, but it is about equivalent (if not better) than the movie. I really enjoyed seeing it, and for those unsure of what to see in New York, I would totally recommend this production. Chef's kiss!

As we were getting seated for the Broadway musical, I heard a man behind me say, "This was the first book I ever read that I really enjoyed." To me, that's so beautiful, because just one book can inspire a love for reading. Crazy. I loved each and every single adaptation and would probably rank them from book, musical, to movie if I had to choose. I love everything about this plot so much. The book was an easy 10 out of 10, and I would totally recommend it to any 8th grader. Each adaptation made me tear up a little, and when a book can make me do that, it has greatly impressed me. I'd recommend reading/watching all three of these adaptations, but if it were really up to me, I'd recommend you READ THE BOOK!