The Outsiders in Review

Georgetown Prep's production of The Outsiders this past weekend was a great success for their small but growing group of Prep Players. After spending time talking to the director, Kevin Kuchar, I was excited to view the show through the perspective of a director and the choices that were made to support the cast.

The story of The Outsiders comes from the fifties conflict between the Socs, or the rich kids, and the Greasers, the working class kids. As these two groups struggle to find their identities and deal with the wide gap between the struggles that each faces, they begin to see the humanity that lies behind the stereotypes they are labeled with.

In putting this show on stage, they put together a very interesting and unique set. When my brother auditioned for the show, he mentioned that they would be putting real grass on the stage, but I was skeptical of how this would work. This was, however, exactly what they did! The protruding stage was covered with a layer of sod, truly bringing the outdoors inside and in front of the audience. There were also street lamps and benches, as well as a pool-like structure, representative of the fountain. Chain-link fences hung from the ceiling and stood behind the benches. The back wall of the whole set was covered with small lights, often used to show stars.

The stage at Prep also includes two side stages which again distinguished the set from our more traditional ones at Holy Cross. The stage right set was used as the hospital room while the stage left area was Ponyboy's porch and home. I was very impressed with how the actors used these individual sets separately, making sure to keep the boundaries between them very real to the audiences.


As for the show itself, I was surprised to see the way in which characters were double-cast. Rather than having two separate casts that alternated, some of the actors would play one character during one show and another during the next. From an acting perspective, I cannot imagine developing two separate characters and alternating between them during the different shows. Surprisingly, though, each of the characters who played several parts managed to be fully engaged in the part they were playing.

Overall, each of the actors pulled their weight in bringing the show together, and combined with an interesting set, they were very successful.

~Julie