Original Ponyboy Brody Grant to Guest at High School 'Outsiders'
By @sharedot · · 6 pages
- Theater
- Broadway
- The Outsiders
- Brody Grant
- High School Theater
Broadway's original Ponyboy Curtis, Brody Grant, will perform with Urbana High students at their Nov. 12 opening night of 'The Outsiders.
A Broadway Ponyboy Returns to the Stage — in a High School Gym
According to The Frederick News-Post, Brody Grant, who originated the role of Ponyboy Curtis in the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical "The Outsiders," will appear as a special guest performer at the conclusion of Urbana High School's opening night production of "The Outsiders" on Nov. 12.
Grant will also lead a workshop with the student cast before the show, offering feedback and lessons drawn from his Broadway experience.
The paper notes the school's staging will be a dramatic stage play rather than a musical adaptation, making Grant's appearance a meeting of two very different takes on S.E. Hinton's story.
Why This Moment Was Two Years in the Making
The Frederick News-Post describes the appearance as a full-circle milestone for the school's theater department, which traveled to New York City in 2025 to see the original Broadway cast — Grant included — perform the show.
Theater director Stephen Ward told the paper that when the fall production was announced, Grant appeared via a Cameo video to reveal the show selection to a room full of excited students.
"Our students felt the show was life-changing, and that's when I knew we wanted to do 'The Outsiders' at some point," Ward said, calling it an honor to host the original Ponyboy Curtis at the school.
A Stripped-Down Take on a Coming-of-Age Classic
Ward tells the Frederick News-Post that the production deliberately avoids elaborate staging: "Rather than surrounding these young people with elaborate scenery, effects or spectacle, we have stripped the performance down to what matters most: the actors, the relationships, and the story."
Set in 1960s Tulsa, Oklahoma, Hinton's novel — begun while she was still a teenager — follows teenage rival groups divided by economic class. Ward argues the questions the story raises remain relevant nearly 60 years later: who am I, where do I belong, and what does growing up mean leaving behind.
Showtimes, Tickets, and a Likely Sellout
Per The Frederick News-Post, the production runs at 7 p.m. Nov.
12 and 13, and at 1 and 7 p.m. Nov.
14 at Urbana High School, 3471 Campus Drive in Ijamsville, Maryland. Grant's guest appearance is limited to the Nov.
12 opening night only. Tickets are available at uhsdrama.ludus.com, and the paper reports that advance purchases are strongly encouraged for opening night, which is expected to sell out.
Meanwhile, Hoodline separately reports a similar Broadway-meets-high-school event in Cranford, New Jersey, where Tony winner Rupert Holmes performs with Cranford High students on Nov. 20.