The Outsiders at La Jolla Playhouse

[Wee Thomas2]

Posted: 2/21/23 at 9:37am

We were in the audience for the First Performance of this new musical, Saturday night at the La Jolla Playhouse.  We relocated to SoCal last summer and are theater starved (will be back in NYC late March for a 5 show sprint), so are going to LA and SD and points in between to see things, and the first preview of The Outsiders being on a long weekend worked for us.  Our first time at the theater, so ask me anything about the nuts and bolts if you are considering a trip out here.

 

The show is long.  This is not surprising as I often read about first previews needing some serious trimming.  Didn't start until 7:15 (called for 7PM) and the Artistic Director warned us that intermission would be long (approx 30 minutes).  Didn't end until just after 10:15, but it felt longer than that.

 

I never read the book or saw the film so had no preconceived notions about the story, which obviously is a good one.  The Musical, however, felt to us like it took 2 parts from West Side Story, 1 part from Hamilton (Ryan Vasquez rapping), and 2 parts from To Kill A Mockingbird.  We occasionally got confused between characters (they are all so young and good looking and some have similar names and we are old), but the story is pretty straightforward and easy to follow.  The fight scenes were well choreographed, but the dialogue was sometimes hard to understand (could just be a sound issue).

 

No orchestra in the pit, although you could see a conductor on the screens behind the seating.  Cast pointed to the pit during the curtain call.  I don't think it was prerecorded, but can't be sure.  A few blown lines and a couple really bad lighting errors (no spots at all on a singer for more than half a song) and poorly timed prop removal, but I am sure those issues will work themselves out during the previews.

[Moreski93]

Posted: 2/21/23 at 10:03am

Thanks for reporting. Can’t wait to see it Friday. We’re they selling any merch?

[Wee Thomas2]

Posted: 2/21/23 at 12:22pm

No merch. Not even much space there for merch.  Food service is outside, even, which might be tough with the weather you will have Friday.  Lots of folks in the back row taking lots of notes.  We sat hear the Artistic Director who seemed please with the overall production.  I'm lousy at predicting hits (didn't like Kimberly Akimbo, loved Bedwetter), so I look forward to other opinions.

[BroadwayBaby6]

Posted: 2/22/23 at 6:04pm

Wee Thomas2 said: "We were in the audience for the First Performance of this new musical, Saturday night at the La Jolla Playhouse. We relocated to SoCal last summer and are theater starved (will be back in NYC late March for a 5 show sprint), so are going to LA and SD and points in between to see things, and the first preview of The Outsiders being on a long weekend worked for us. Our first time at the theater, so ask me anything about the nuts and bolts if you are considering a trip out here.



The show is long. This is not surprising as I often read about first previews needing some serious trimming. Didn't start until 7:15 (called for 7PM) and the Artistic Director warned us that intermission would be long (approx 30 minutes). Didn't end until just after 10:15, but it felt longer than that.



I never read the book or saw the film so had no preconceived notions about the story, which obviously is a good one. The Musical, however, felt to us like it took 2 parts from West Side Story, 1 part from Hamilton (Ryan Vasquez rapping), and 2 parts from To Kill A Mockingbird. We occasionally got confused between characters (they are all so young and good looking and some have similar names and we are old), but the story is pretty straightforward and easy to follow. The fight scenes were well choreographed, but the dialogue was sometimes hard to understand (could just be a sound issue).



No orchestra in the pit, although you could see a conductor on the screens behind the seating. Cast pointed to the pit during the curtain call. I don't think it was prerecorded, but can't be sure. A few blown lines and a couple really bad lighting errors (no spots at all on a singer for more than half a song) and poorly timed prop removal, but I am sure those issues will work themselves out during the previews."

Did you find any aspects of the show that you liked or disliked? Book, music, performances, sets, etc.. If you're being diplomatic, can you at least give it a thumbs up or thumbs down?

[bruzson]

Posted: 2/23/23 at 11:52am

We saw the second preview of this plodding new musical last night. It's now the 5th musical in a row at the La Jolla Playhouse that is unimpressive (ranging from the bad -- Fly-- to the kinda promising -- Lempicka). The Outsiders falls more to the headscratching/uninteresting end of the spectrum.  It invites comparisons to West Side Story, and none in a good way.  There are a few decent songs (Stay Gold and Great Expectations  but no song list was provided although we were told they added a new song last night) and flashes of inspired, if limited choreography.  The set is one piece with two cars on either side of the stage. The only new piece of the set is something that comes in from the flies at the top of act two which baffingly caused a 30 minute intermission (of which we were warned in artistic director Ashley's opening remarks). It was pretty darn drab to look at for nearly 3 hours. The major blame goes to the director for induced lethargy throughout and for the book writer for presenting major plot points via narration by a bystander that don't help explain what happened or is happening and other plot points that are drawn out to the point of tedium.  I can't imagine they'll salvage this by opening night.  Here's hoping Redwood next year is better, but a this point, I'll pin my hopes on the Old Globe, which has shown it knows how to get muscials right (see the wonderful Come Fall in Love when it moves to Broadway later this year, I hope).

[BroadwayBaby6]

Posted: 2/23/23 at 12:27pm

bruzson said: "We saw the second preview of this plodding new musical last night. It's now the 5th musical in a row at the La Jolla Playhouse that is unimpressive (ranging from the bad -- Fly-- to the kinda promising -- Lempicka). The Outsiders falls more to the headscratching/uninteresting end of the spectrum. It invites comparisons to West Side Story, and none in a good way. There are a few decent songs (Stay Gold and Great Expectations but no song list was provided although we were told they added a new song last night) and flashes of inspired, if limited choreography. The set is one piece with two cars on either side of the stage. The only new piece of the set is something that comes in from the flies at the top of act two which baffingly caused a 30 minute intermission (of which we were warned in artistic director Ashley's opening remarks). It was pretty darn drab to look at for nearly 3 hours. The major blame goes to the director for induced lethargy throughout and for the book writer for presenting major plot points via narration by a bystander that don't help explain what happened or is happening and other plot points that are drawn out to the point of tedium. I can't imagine they'll salvage this by opening night. Here's hoping Redwood next year is better, but a this point, I'll pin my hopes on the Old Globe, which has shown it knows how to get muscials right (see the wonderful Come Fall in Love when it moves to Broadway later this year, I hope)."

Your comments seem well reasoned. You lost me, however, when you raved about the dreadful "Come Fall In Love". 

[Wee Thomas2]

Posted: 2/25/23 at 9:25am

BroadwayBaby6 said:

Did you find any aspects of the show that you liked or disliked? Book, music, performances, sets, etc.. If you're being diplomatic, can you at least give it a thumbs up or thumbs down?"

I had to give it an Incomplete.  It wasn't bad, but it wasn't good, although there is potential from the source material.  If *this* was the finished product I couldn't recommend it.

[Alessio2]

Posted: 2/26/23 at 2:09pm

I saw the 5th preview last night Saturday 2/25 and I highly recommend it.  I don't know the novel, film or source material at all so I had zero expectations and I was very pleasantly surprised.  The show ran long and it definetely needs tightening up but I really enjoyed what I saw.  There was a tech issue that happened when the big fight/rain scene was about to start so they had to stop the show for about 5 minutes.  Once it resumed, the staging of the fight scene in the rain was one of the most incredible things I have seen ontstage.  It was really creative and super impactful.  Other than that the show ran smoothly, just a bit long.  They can trim some things for sure to make it smoother. Overall I found Act 1 was stronger than Act 2, and I think that's what needs some work.  

The good:  Really beautiful songs that were character driven and emotional.  A really talented cast all around, the actor who played Ponyboy was really wonderful as was everyone else.  I really loved the direction except for the very opening scene where Ponyboy and Johnny are looking for a seat at the movie theater where they are actually wandering around the audience ( I was second row so couldn't see them LOL). Side note, I found the show to be extremely homoerotic in its staging.  As I said, I don't know if it's this particular version as I don't know the film or book so don't have anything to compare to.

Great stage design, lighting, and tech in general and really interesting choreography.  I could see this going to Broadway once they work everything out.  Go see this!

Updated On: 2/26/23 at 02:09 PM

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 2/26/23 at 2:19pm

It’s Ponyboy not Tonyboy. 

[Alessio2]

Posted: 2/26/23 at 2:24pm

 I fixed it.  Also, I knew that as they say his name 500 times during the show LOL

[bruzson]

Posted: 2/26/23 at 2:49pm

• Spoiler alert: When we saw the second preview, there was one spigot of rain coming down and the rest of the 'rain' was projected on the back wall.  Was it different when you saw it?  It didn't come close to being special in terms of set design/theatrics unless they've greatly changed the staging.

[Alessio2]

Posted: 2/26/23 at 3:00pm

bruzson said: "

• Spoiler alert: When we saw the second preview, there was one spigot of rain coming down and the rest of the 'rain' was projected on the back wall. Was it different when you saw it? It didn't come close to being special in terms of set design/theatrics unless they've greatly changed the staging.

Yes, it was a full on rainstorm on stage and everyone was soaking wet at the end.  They did have issues with the rain starting which is why they stopped for about 5 minutes, they then restarted the scene and everything worked perfectly.

 

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 2/26/23 at 4:17pm

 

[HoldYourBatBoy2]

Posted: 2/26/23 at 4:39pm

Damn…that looks so cool 

[Wee Thomas2]

Posted: 2/27/23 at 12:33pm

HoldYourBatBoy2 said: "Damn…that looks so cool"

It is quite well done, visually. We were most of the way back but the rain effect was quite clear from our vantagepoint

[thinton]

Posted: 3/14/23 at 7:45pm

I saw this the first performance after opening, and I agree with Alessio2.  I had no previous exposure to the source material and was blown away that this was one of my favorite theatrical experiences ever (and I see a lot of Broadway shows). The book and score were beautifully written and character driven.  The direction, choreography, and performances were absolutely world class, and the realistic set, stunning effects, and haunting lighting were incredibly impactful.  The show absolutely demands a Broadway transfer and deserves all the success in the world.