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.
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – True Hazel Productions presents THE OUTSIDERS, a play written by Christopher Sergel based upon the novel of the same name by S. E. Hinton. The play is directed by Micah Meyers and presented April 6 – 8, 2018. Performances are Friday and Saturday at 7:30 pm, and Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 pm, at the Hillcrest Center for the Arts, located at 403 W. Hillcrest Dr. in Thousand Oaks. This play is presented by special arrangement with The Dramatic Publishing Company and is performed in the Theatre on the Hill, inside the Center.
A teen gang in rural Oklahoma, the Greasers, is perpetually at odds with the Socs (a shortened term for “social” and pronounced “soshes”), a rival group. When Greasers Ponyboy and Johnny get into a brawl that ends in the death of a Soc, the boys are forced to go into hiding. Soon Ponyboy and Johnny, along with the intense Dallas and their other Greaser buddies, must contend with the consequences of their violent lives. While some Greasers try to achieve redemption, others meet tragic ends.
True Hazel Productions is made up entirely of area teens that have been talking about doing this show for years. “So now to be a bunch of teens banding together to produce something that’s going to be so special, not just for kids but for adults as well, it’s a dream come true for all of us,” says 15 year old director Micah Meyers. “Like Ponyboy reads from Robert Frost in the show, Nature’s first green is gold. This show is gold for us. Look, we’re young and we don’t have a lot of money. But what we do have a lot of is passion.”
“The Outsiders is a classic with themes that hold even truer today with the greasers, the socs and the meaning of family,” says Meyers. “In 2018, going to high school, we have cliques and stereotypes too. Plus, the Conejo Valley is all about family, so the cast and I feel that the story of The Outsiders is totally relevant to what we’re all going through as well.”
Tickets are $15 for reserved seating and may be purchased at the Hillcrest Center for the Arts Box Office or by calling (805) 381-1246 or www.hillcrestarts.com.
WHERE: Hillcrest Center for the Arts | 403 W. Hillcrest Drive | Thousand Oaks, CA
OTHER: Free parking is always available. Accessible seating available by calling (805) 381-1246.
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