Nothing gold can stay, but Broadway newbie Brody Grant isn’t going anywhere.
Grant is one of many cast members making their Broadway debut in the musical adaptation of The Outsiders, which officially opened in April. The new show, which counts Angelina Jolie as a producer, premiered at La Jolla Playhouse in California last year before transferring to New York City.
“I can’t believe it,” Grant gushed during an appearance on Good Morning America when asked how it feels to be thrust into the Broadway spotlight. “[I’m] honored and blessed and trying to soak it all in.”
Grant noted that his path to playing Ponyboy Curtis, the youngest brother of the family, was “a long one” and didn’t include a “fancy” formal arts education. “I just had great teachers and a supportive family,” he added.
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Playing Ponyboy feels like a full-circle moment. “It’s very special,” he continued. “My mom, I mean, she had all these people [from The Outsiders movie] — she had them up on her locker when she was a kid in high school. I mean, it was really a special story for her.”
The Outsiders (1983) stars C. Thomas Howell as Ponyboy alongside Emilio Estevez, Matt Dillon, Tom Cruise, Patrick Swayze, Ralph Macchio and Diane Lane. The coming-of-age film is based on S.E. Hinton‘s 1967 novel, which tells the story of division between the Greasers and the Socs in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Leading up to the show’s opening night, Grant reflected on the legacy Hinton’s book has left. “This story is beloved by people who have been reading it since 1967, but there are still so many new opportunities in the show to really see these characters that we’ve known for so long,” he told Playbill in April.
He continued, “When I last saw [Hinton], she told me that when people say she changed their life, she responds with, ‘It’s the message, not the messenger.’ She feels like the story was always there, and that she was just chosen to tell it. And I think that we were chosen in our own way, to bring the story to new life in this show. It was always meant to be the two of us.”
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Grant’s performance resonated with Broadway fans and critics, earning him a 2024 Tony nomination for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical. The Outsiders is up for a total of 12 awards, including Best Musical and Best Choreography.
Scroll down to learn more about Grant following his Broadway debut:
His Connection to ‘The Outsiders’ Book
“It was the first book that I ever finished that was a proper novel,” Grant told Playbill, noting that Hinton’s book wasn’t assigned reading for school. Instead, he was given a copy from his mother. “She was a huge fan of the novel, and the movie was her everything growing up.”
Not only does Grant feel a close tie to the book itself, but he also shares a connection to the character he portrays on stage. “It’s not always cool to be artistic. It’s cool to be tough. It’s cool to be macho,” he told Broadway.com in April. “That’s what’s beautiful about Ponyboy. Even though he is born in this environment, on the inside, he’s just an artist.”
He Wasn’t Always Ponyboy
When Grant first got involved with The Outsiders musical, it wasn’t as the young protagonist and narrator. “I actually played Sodapop first,” he revealed to Playbill. “I played him for the full six-week workshop, which was a lot of fun. But by the end, it was clear that I resonated a lot more with Ponyboy. … I find solace with other people who can’t fit into the thing that is expected of them.”
He’s Released His Own Music
Along with his budding Broadway career, Grant has produced music as a solo artist. His song “Still Breakin Up” was released in November 2023.
“Had this one in the vault for a while!!” he wrote via Instagram at the time. “Came to the studio with influences like Cage The Elephant, The Doobie Brothers, Bruno Mars, and made something new that we thought sounded audacious, emotional, disruptive, pop.”
He added, “I like listening to it in the car. Maybe you might too.”
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He Found His Own Johnny Cade
Ponyboy’s friendship with fellow Greaser Johnny is a key factor in the novel. On stage, Grant’s bond with costar Sky Lakota-Lynch is palpable.
“It’s one of those relationships where you can kind of read the other person’s mind,” Grant told Playbill of his friendship with Lakota-Lynch, who plays Johnny. “Sometimes, you don’t need language. We just kind of feel each other’s soul in essence.”
His Sister Inspired Him to Sing
While Grant looked up to vocalists like Adam Lambert and Bruno Mars growing up — “‘I would just go home, and in the dead of night, belt into pillows, ‘When I Was Your Man,’” he told Broadway.com — he credits his sister with inspiring his passion for music.
“I spent so much time in the car trying to harmonize,” he noted, recalling his sister’s talent. “My mom would turn on the radio and be like, ‘Brody, you have to sing the melody.’”
