Upper School theatre students give the play more depth and context from the book, delivering a richer theatre experience.

The St. Stephen’s community, alumni and prospective students recently filled the seats of the Helm Fine Arts Center for three unique performances of “The Outsiders,” a story about rival gangs — the Greasers and the Socs — in 1967 Tulsa, Oklahoma, that centers on friendship, family and self-discovery.

“My hope is that audience members left the theater a little more likely to see the common humanity in everyone who crosses their path,” said Hanniyah Khan ’26, who played Johnny. “The way I see it, the beauty of “The Outsiders” is that it uses universal themes — belonging, love and loss — to help a much wider audience feel connected to the characters and story.”

For audience members familiar with the play or the Tony-Award winning musical, adapted from S.E. Hinton's classic novel and Francis Ford Coppola's film, the St. Stephen’s version was notably different. Upper School Theatre Director Mike Dolan said the cast and crew rewrote portions of the adaptation to align it more closely with the novel, restoring its key moments which has long been part of the St. Stephen’s Middle School English curriculum.

“I authentically believe the [adaptation] missed some of the beauty of the text,” said Dolan.

It is something he and his students have never done before but felt was necessary. In preparation for the winter play, Dolan read the novel slowly, side by side with the adaptation.

“I was like ‘Wow, they’re leaving so much meat on this bone,’” said Dolan. “In the novel, there’s so much beautifully written dialogue, and I thought, ‘We have to have the characters saying these lines.’”

Ziri Udezue ’26, who played Darry, the oldest of the three Curtis brothers, said he enjoyed working on a story so deeply intertwined with the St. Stephen’s community.

“Darry is a tough guy to crack, but with the help of so many incredible scene partners and two deeply supportive directors, I was able to do what I think was my best stage work so far,” said Udezue. “I really hope the audience came away from the show with a sense of the value of family — both found and blood.”

During a fall rehearsal, Dolan told the cast and crew to bring their old copies of the book — many still had them from 6th grade English. Using a shared Google document version of the adaptive script, the students began removing and adding sections. For example, Dolan noted that in the original play, Ponyboy is found by Johnny and Dallas after being beaten up. In the novel, however, his brothers find him first, a pivotal moment in the story. Students inserted the book’s dialogue to restore that dynamic. The result of this important exercise was a more thoughtful rewrite — a task Dolan said came naturally to his theatre students, thanks to strong English instructors who have equipped them to think analytically about literature.

For Spartans, reading “The Outsiders” in Middle School is an educational milestone and influential part of their St. Stephen’s experience. Students dedicated the production to English instructors everywhere who teach the novel, including:

• Retired English instructor Victoria Woodruff, who taught “The Outsiders” for 25 years in her 6th grade class.
• Middle School English instructor Claire Zagrozky ’16, who now teaches it and was once a student in Woodruff’s class.
• Octavia Sadler, Betsy Tschurr and Charlton Perry also taught the novel at various times.

The next Upper School production is “The Hello Girls,” the musical.

Learn more about the Arts at St. Stephen’s and view the full schedule.

 

Full Cast & Crew of the 2025 "The Outsiders"

PRODUCTION TEAM

Asst. Director: Annie Ehrlich ’26
Stage Manager: Raleigh Munyon ’26
Asst. Stage Manager: Sam Schoenbaum ’28

GREASERS

Ponyboy Curtis: Lily Kling ’26
Darry Curtis: Ziri Udezue ’26
Sodapop Curtis: Kimberly Kyles ’27
Johnny Cade: Hanniyah Khan ’27
Dallas Winston: James Benardete ’28
Two-Bit: Mars Fifield ’27
Sandy: Sage Griffin ’28
Steve: Aaron Gao ’27
Greaser Ensemble: Sammy Hanna ’29 (Johnny Understudy) Kelly Wang ’28, Annabel Archer ’28, Sehva Faulkner ’26

SOCIALS

Cherry: Lizzie Ahlgren ’26
Marcia: Eline Van der Valk ’26
Bob: Lee Fardal ’26
Randy: Konrad Merz ’27
Paul: Sebi Creixell ’26
Soc Ensemble: Jacob Baldwin ’29 (US Two-Bit), Feyisayo Faweya ’28, Evan Lee ’27, Leila Ross ’27, Liam Ware ’29, Clark Schutt ’29, Edison Leigh ’26

ADULTS

Jerry: Heidi Bahlmann ’26 (Soc Ensemble)
Mrs. O’Brient: Sehva Faulkner ’26 (Greaser Ensemble)
Doctor: Michelle Micheal-Egor ’28 (Soc Ensemble)
Nurse:  Annabel Archer ’28 (Greaser Ensemble, US Ponyboy)
Mrs. Syme: Quinn Forteau ’29 (Soc Ensemble)

UNDERSTUDIES

Marcia: Kelly Wang ’26
Cherry:  Leila Ross ’26
Johnny: Sammy Hanna ’29
Ponyboy: Annabel Archer ’28
Two-Bit: Jacob Baldwin ’29

CREW

Lead Costumer: Mariana Losada Sanchez ’26
Costumes: Maddy Marks ’26
Costumes: Aspen Gipprich ’29
Costumes & Makeup: Maddie Stacey ’29
Props master: Gemma Greff ’29
Sound: Addy English ’26
Crew: Brydon Diffen ’29, David Micheal-Egor ’29

Music composed by Andrew Dobos
Music played by Brandon Rodriquez ’26