Anyone who has worked on a play or a musical knows the lengths we go to, to try and put on a successful production....and this show is no exception!
The Outsiders is a classic novel about growing up in the late 50's and early 60's when Greasers and Socs were the norm at most schools. Kids were learning how to be people and yet also expected to be adults. Honestly, the group names today are different, but the kids are the same. I loved this book when I read it back in Junior High and I have spoken to so many students both involved with this show and not, who just love this book. Many say it's because of the time period and the way it's set, and others just love the meaning behind the book and the movie and that the characters may dress differently, but deep down inside, these kids are the same as many high schoolers today... trying to find their way, trying to be cool with their group of friends, and experiencing heartbreak and loss in ways that kids shouldn't ever have to deal with.
In this show, Ponyboy quotes Robert Frost's poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay":
Nature's first green is gold
Her hardest hue to hold
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour--
Then leaf subsides to leaf
So Eden sank to grief
So dawn goes down to day
Nothing gold can stay.
To me, it holds the meaning of how beauty is temporary and will fade, but that speaks to me as I'm in my fifth decade. It's also been said to talk of how innocence will not stay and how children grow up too fast. In this case, I see it every day and it's always amazing to me how quickly 4 years of High School is gone in a flash. I often ask myself as a teacher, why we in the performing arts put ourselves in this predicament of having to run our programs in cycles, depending on our students and their differing talent levels, only to end in a difficult and often sad goodbye come June...well, it's because nothing gold can stay. I love working with these kids and every year it's a different and changing story. I love imparting my theatrical and musical experiences with them and watching them grow and develop as performers, but most importantly, people.
We chose this season with one thing in mind...we wanted the students to learn how to portray people and not cartoon characters because the depth in which they will grow as people when doing so, is one of the greatest joys of my job. Watching them grow up in life and on stage and to work as their director is one thing, but sharing the stage in the future and working together as fellow thespians is just the added bonus of doing what I do.
I hope you see how much this cast and crew has grown on just this show, and that this one moment in our BHS Theatre Arts 2025-26 season will lead to more gold in the years to come....Stay Gold...and remember to CUT FOOTLOOSE in February :)
Tracy Glover
Director
