The Outsiders North American Tour Company. Photo by Matthew Murphy
Are You Ready To Rumble? The Tony Award-winning Best Musical The Outsiders roars into Belk Theater February 3-8
Jan 30, 2026 / Blog
Anyone who's read the S.E. Hinton novel or seen the Francis Ford Coppola movie adaptation of The Outsiders will likely tell you its most iconic line is "Stay gold, Ponyboy."
But there’s a line in the Tony Award-winning musical that just may eclipse that. Bonale Fambrini, who plays Johnny Cade, best friend of Ponyboy Curtis, said the line that gets the biggest applause, night after night, is “Eat sh**, Marcia.”
“Stay gold,” based on the Robert Frost poem, “Nothing Gold Can Stay,” may be the most lyrical line from the show. But that other line provides comic relief in a show whose raw intensity brings people to tears.
Hear that zinger (and the ensuing laughter) when you catch the 2024 Tony Award winner for “Best Musical” when it plays Belk Theater Feb. 3 – 8. The show’s four Tony Awards include one for Danya Taymor for Best Direction of a Musical. (Taymor is a Duke University alumna and niece of the multitalented Julie Taymor, who won a Tony Award for her direction of The Lion King.)
In all its forms (book, movie and musical) The Outsiders is a coming-of-age story that deals with male friendships, rival gangs, class conflict and finding one’s way in the world.
Ponyboy and Johnny are members of the working-class Greasers, a street gang whose members are tough on the outside but tender on the inside. The Greasers, from unstable homes on the wrong side of the tracks, frequently face off against the upper-class Socs. (That’s short for “Socials” and is pronounced So-shiz. It rhymes (sort of) with “dishes” and not, as you’d think, with “rock.”)
The Greasers, understandably, have a chip on their collective shoulders. “No, we ain’t got money, but we got something to prove,” they sing in Fambrini’s favorite number, “Grease Got a Hold.”
(Nolan White and The Outsiders North American Tour Company - Photo by Matthew Murphy)
The ‘Insider’ Outsiders
In every city the tour has stopped in, Fambrini has seen leather-clad theatergoers. Some teenage girls and young women come dressed as Cherry Valance (played by Emma Hearn in the musical and Diane Lane in the movie), the Soc cheerleader who sympathizes with the Greasers.
Some show up in official merchandise from the show, like the T-shirt with a line from one of the musical numbers: “We stick together ‘cause each other’s all we got.”
Some superfans have even made their own T-shirts with the crowd-pleasing line directed at Marcia emblazoned across the front. Entire Reddit threads and TikTok videos are devoted to that line.
But the show’s devotees span all ages. One night, a young fan waiting outside the stage door for autographs was dressed in a leather jacket with his hair greased back. Fambrini estimates he was about 5.
“The fan base is amazing,” he said.
Tough, But Scared
Fambrini is 23 but passes for 16, which is Johnny’s age. Ponyboy is even younger — just 14. They — along with Ponyboy’s brothers, Darrel (“Darry”) and Sodapop, and a few others — form the leather jacket-clad, greased-back-hair gang.
Fambrini first read the novel when it was assigned in seventh grade. He’s also seen the movie countless times and the musical during its Broadway run. He’s taken bits from each of those to come up with his own Johnny Cade.
(The Outsiders North American Tour Company - Photo by Matthew Murphy)
“Johnny has a little brother-esque quality that I think you can see in both my and Ralph Macchio’s performance in the movie,” he said.
No detail was too small for him to notice. “There’s a line from the book that says you couldn’t tell Johnny was scared unless you knew him,” Fambrini said. “Otherwise, what was really fear could look like aloofness.”
Fighting And Fancy Footwork
The folk/bluegrass score captures the time (1967) and place (Tulsa, Oklahoma) where the story’s set. The music and lyrics are by Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance (from the folk-rock band Jamestown Revival) along with Justin Levine, who wrote the book with Adam Rapp. (Fun fact: His brother, Anthony Rapp, originated the role of Mark in RENT).
The choreography, by brothers Rick Kuperman and Jeff Kuperman, is gritty and athletic. Think: Less old soft shoe; more fight scenes. “It’s rough and raw,” Fambrini said. “There’s a lot of violence, but it’s all done safely.”
There’s not a separate fight choreographer; the Kupermans filled that role, too. They’re well-versed in Kempo (also written as Kenpo), a hybrid of various martial arts styles that emphasize fluid movements, speed and disabling opponents efficiently.
“Kempo was new to all of us, and it was super-intense,” Fambrini said. “There’s a lot of cardio. You have to be forceful but also show restraint.” Fambrini’s a rock climber, so he’s always in good shape. And he still found Kempo a challenge.
You won’t read any spoilers here, but know this: With all the violence, you can assume there will be tragedy. Pack tissues. Fans have told Fambrini: “I had makeup on when I got to the theater, but I cried it all off.”
His response? “That means we did our jobs.
The Outsiders
Groups of 10+ receive 10% off base ticket price. Groups of 40+ receive one (1) complimentary ticket. Group offers not available for Saturday performances.