This past weekend, Samohi Theatre’s production of Christopher Sergel’s play The Outsiders came to the campus’ Humanities Center for three showings, with three more scheduled this week. The play, a faithful adaptation of SE Hinton’s coming-of-age novel, was on the radar of Theater Director Kate Barraza after the majority of her Summer School students credited The Outsiders as their favorite book.
“I think it’s a compelling story,” Barraza said. “I think it’s just the story of rebellion, or almost the story of Romeo and Juliet, two sides hating each other, not necessarily knowing why. I think it’s very compelling to people.”
The story of the Greasers and Socials, rival teenage gangs in 1960s Tulsa, Oklahoma, left some of the female cast concerned from a lack of roles, prompting a two-cast format for this year’s show. The "Switchblade Cast" features a predominantly male ensemble, while the "Mustang Cast" is anchored by the female members.
Barraza added that her students have “embraced” the format, throwing their gender differences out the window for the sake of a top-notch production.
“I think the main thing is that this script gives them a lot of opportunity to really get [their] characters, build strong relationships, and dig deep into their acting technique … I think the gender didn’t matter as much to the students,” Barraza said.
Taking up the mantle of Johnny for the Mustang Cast is Sophie Castellanos, who had a tall task ahead of her, bringing to life a trauma-ridden character with several layers.
“When I got the role of Johnny, I wanted to make it as relatable and believable as I could, because I do know there are kids that are treated [badly] and do get abused, but really don’t talk about it, and are good kids,” Castellanos said. “So I wanted to try and shine a light on that, and really just help have people’s message out there.”
The Mustang Cast’s Ponyboy Curtis, Jolie Jurenka, said her focus has been on building a “connection with the audience” due to Ponyboy’s fourth-wall breaks. She added that the annual Samohi fall play is always a “really good time” to be had in the beginning of the school year.
“It’s [for] a bunch of people … who maybe aren’t gonna be featured as much in the [spring] musical because they’re not a singer, they don’t dance and stuff like that,” Jurenka said. “It’s just a different community, and I really like straight plays, so it’s fun doing that.”
The early-year schedule meant the casts and crew have had to work extra in order to meet a six-week turnaround time on production. However, it’s been so far, so good for the casts, who return for shows at 7pm Friday evening, 7pm Saturday evening and 3pm Sunday afternoon.
“I think people are pretty happy with it,” Barraza said. “It’s not perfect, but it’s high school theater, right? You’re gonna get a little mishap here or there, but I think it’s been a pretty generous audience, and they seem pretty happy with the show. I mean, there’s a lot of people moved to tears, and that’s what we’re hoping for.”
The female-led Mustang Cast will take the Humanities Center stage on Saturday, while the Switchblade Cast handles Friday and Sunday’s showings. The Switchblade Cast features Titus Auger as Ponyboy, Elliot Decker as Johnny and Kheian Washington as Bob.
While the fall play is almost at an end, auditions for Samohi’s spring musical are around the corner. This year’s pick is Chicago, a project Barraza has wanted to see take place for a while and auditions for singers and dancers take place the week of November 18-22. Visit Samohitheatre.org for The Outsiders tickets and for more information on auditions for Chicago.
thomas@smdp.com
