The Tony Award-winning musical “The Outsiders” has pulled into Hollywood for its Los Angeles premiere engagement, running at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre through October 18. Among the touring cast is a hometown face: Los Angeles native Travis Roy Rogers, who plays eldest Curtis brother Darrel “Darry” Curtis in what marks his professional stage acting debut.
The engagement, presented by Broadway in Hollywood, kicked off September 30 and continues its run before the production moves on to Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, according to LAexcites.com. Rogers, a graduate of Carnegie Mellon's School of Drama, plays the character tasked with raising his younger siblings after their parents' deaths — a role that carries extra weight given it's his first professional stage job, and he's doing it in his own backyard. In a video interview, Rogers and co-star Emma Hearn, who plays Soc student Cherry Valance, spoke with CBS News about their roles in the production and their off-stage partnership.
Hearn's character, Cherry, is the Soc high schooler whose connection with Greaser Ponyboy Curtis crosses the socioeconomic divide at the center of S.E. Hinton's story, according to Tours To You. Hearn performs opposite Nolan White as Ponyboy and Rogers as Darry in the touring production.
From Tulsa Paperback to Tony Stage
Hinton began writing “The Outsiders” at age 15 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, publishing the novel in 1967 under her initials so male reviewers wouldn't dismiss it outright. The book has since sold more than 15 million copies worldwide, per the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. Hinton wrote it because the teen books available at the time failed to reflect the real tensions among adolescents in her hometown.
That scrappy origin story eventually led to a very different kind of launch pad: the stage musical had its world premiere in February 2023 at La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego. The musical went on to win four awards at the 2024 Tony Awards from 12 nominations, including Best Musical.
A Roots-Rock Score and Real Rain Onstage
Part of what sets “The Outsiders” apart from a traditional Broadway sound is its score, co-created by Jamestown Revival — Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance — alongside Tony winner Justin Levine, according to the New York Theatre Guide. Jamestown Revival was brought on to write songs for the show.
Director Danya Taymor won the Tony for Best Direction of a Musical for her work on the show in 2024.
A Grand Stage for the Hometown Debut
The Hollywood Pantages Theatre itself adds a layer of local history to the run. The Art Deco movie palace opened June 4, 1930, designed by architect B. Marcus Priteca, and now seats roughly 2,691 patrons as one of Los Angeles’ premier touring Broadway venues, according to ThrillZing.
The Pantages engagement slots into the venue's broader 2026 Broadway in Hollywood season lineup, giving Southern California audiences a chance to catch the acclaimed tour before it heads to Orange County. Hoodline previously reported on the tour's December stop at San Francisco's Orpheum Theatre, part of the same national run that has also passed through Cleveland and Oklahoma City.
