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Chatting with Brody Grant, Danya Taymor, and Justin Levine of ‘The Outsiders’

Brody Grant, Danya Taymor, and Justin Levine of “The Outsiders” chatted at the 2024 Drama Desk Awards red carpet, which took place on Monday, June 10th at the NYU Skirball Center.

Jason Schmidt and Brody Grant in 'The Outsiders' on Broadway
Jason Schmidt and Brody Grant in 'The Outsiders' on Broadway. Photo Credit: Matthew Murphy
Jason Schmidt and Brody Grant in 'The Outsiders' on Broadway. Photo Credit: Matthew Murphy

Brody Grant, Danya Taymor, and Justin Levine of “The Outsiders” chatted at the 2024 Drama Desk Awards red carpet, which took place on Monday, June 10th at the NYU Skirball Center.

Brody Grant

Brody Grant stars as Ponyboy Curtis in “The Outsiders” musical on Broadway. He has been nominated for the Drama Desk Award for “Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical.” “The nomination feels great,” Grant admitted.

“I feel honored to have a group of people, friends and my family and from back home. A buddy of mine just flew in to see the show,” he elaborated.

Brody Grant
Brody Grant. Photo Courtesy of Brody Grant.

On the lesson learned from playing Ponyboy in this production, Grant said, “It taught me to not be afraid of being an artist. Just accept it and love it.”

Regarding his definition of the word success, Grant said, “Success is getting to do what I love with the people that I love. That is truly success.”

Danya Taymor

Danya Taymor is the director of “The Outsiders” musical on Broadway. On directing this production, she said, “It was the honor of a lifetime. I love the book, I love the story, so to bring it to the stage was an honor and a privilege, and fun.”

On the lessons learned from this musical, she said, “I think it taught me all the different qualities it takes to be a really good leader… It taught me to be a strong leader and how to bring such a huge group of people together.”

“Find out what your aesthetic is, what your gut and what your instinct it, and really develop that. This way, when you are making something, you can make something that you believe in.”

On the title of the current chapter of her life, Taymor said, “Director Barbie.”

Regarding her definition of the word success, Taymor revealed, “Success is getting to make art that you care about with people that you care about.”

Justin Levine

Justin Levine is a three-time Tony award nominee for “The Outsiders.” He is up for “Best Orchestrations,” “Best Book of a Musical,” and “Best Original Score Written for the Theatre.”

At the 2024 Drama Desk Awards, Levine has been nominated for “Outstanding Music” and “Outstanding Lyrics.” On his nominations, Levine said, “They felt great! It is so nice that our team has been recognized.”

Levine had great words about working with the duo Jamestown Revival on the musical score. “They are my brothers,” he said. “There is nothing like working and writing with them.”

Levine also praised Danya Taymor as director. “Danya is the best,” he exclaimed. “I love her. She is a phenomenal human and a phenomenal artist. This has been nothing but a joy and I hope I get to work with her a lot more. The same holds true for the entire cast… I love those guys.”

“I want people to feel something with ‘The Outsiders’… whatever that may be,” he said.

“I want them to experience their own journey with it. Just like the novel, the musical means a lot of things to a lot of people and you can find your way in through different characters and different aspects of that world. Just go for that experience,” Levine expressed.

The Kuperman Brothers

In addition, Rick Kuperman and Jeff Kuperman were nominated for the 2024 Drama Desk Award for “Outstanding Choreography,” which includes fight choreography for “The Outsiders.”

On their 2024 Drama Desk nod, they posted on social media, “Hono(u)red to be among these special artists, and proud of ‘The Outsiders’ musical for its nine Drama Desk nominations.”

They were previously nominated for the Chita Rivera Award for “Outstanding Choreography in a Broadway Show,” and in a few weeks, they will be vying for a Tony Award for “Best Choreography.”

In a post on Instagram, they remarked about their Tony nomination “We’re blown away by all of the love, and grateful that this special show is being recognized across so many departments by the Tony Awards. It takes an extraordinary group of people to put on a show like ‘The Outsiders.’ Congrats to everyone who’s been a part of this historic Broadway season!”

Jeff and Rick Kuperman
Jeff and Rick Kuperman. Photo Courtesy of the Chita Rivera Awards.

To learn more about “The Outsiders” musical, check out its official homepage.

Markos Papadatos
Written By

Markos Papadatos is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for Music News. Papadatos is a Greek-American journalist and educator that has authored over 21,000 original articles over the past 18 years. He has interviewed some of the biggest names in music, entertainment, lifestyle, magic, and sports. He is a 16-time "Best of Long Island" winner, where for three consecutive years (2020, 2021, and 2022), he was honored as the "Best Long Island Personality" in Arts & Entertainment, an honor that has gone to Billy Joel six times.

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