The Enduring Legacy of 'The Outsiders': S.E. Hinton Talks Broadway and Beyond"

The author of the book, The Outsiders, S.E. Hinton, who goes by Susie, rarely does interviews and avoids the spotlight. But she’s proud of how her story has taken on a new life in the Broadway Musical The Outsiders.

It premiered on Broadway in the spring of 2024 and won the Tony Award for Best Musical. When the show goes on tour, Tulsa will be its first stop in October. News On 6’s LeAnne Taylor sat down with Hinton to talk about the show and her book’s enduring legacy.

Q: Did you ever think when you wrote the book that we would be here today with all that’s happened?

A: Oh, yeah. I was a Junior in high school, Will Rogers, and I thought, well, I just can't wait till this is a Broadway Musical…I didn't even expect it to be published. I had no idea how it even got published. So, no, that's, that's the answer.

Q: Why did you write The Outsiders?

A: Because I like to write. I'd been writing for eight years, as soon as I learned how to read, practically, I started writing because I liked making my own stories happen. So, it's not like I decide to sit down and write a novel with no experience. I had eight years of practicing.

Q: How did it get published?

A: A friend of mine's mother wrote children's books, and she said, please let my mother read it. And I said okay. She read it and gave it to a friend of hers who had a New York agent, and said, "try sending this to my agent."

And you know, I’m just a Junior in High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I didn't know that there was the difference between an agent, a publisher, and an editor. But I had a name and an address, so I sent it, and my agent got back to me and said, "I think you've captured a certain spirit here, and I'm going to see what I can do with it."

And that was Marilyn Marlow who’s now a legend in agencies and she was my agent for the next 30 years.

Q: What did your mom think about your writing?

A: My mother never read The Outsiders till after it was published. And she just thought I was weird. Susie and my weird writing, like everybody else in my family. And then when she read it, when it was published, first she was all, “Oh, my God, what are the neighbors going to think? What's the family going to think?”

Then when it started getting good reviews and making money, she's going, “what a nice little book that Susie wrote.”

Q: I’ve heard a story about your creative writing class, what happened?

A: My Junior year in high school, the year I was writing The Outsiders, my creative writing teacher gave me a D. I've upped the F just to make the story better, but she gave me a D, and I found out that publishers will correct your spelling.

You know they will. And I don't know what she was thinking, because I still was a pretty good writer. If she'd, like, circled my spelling I would’ve corrected it or something.

But I heard later it made her so mad. She said, "if I hear one more time that Susie Hinton flunked my class, I will go back and change her grade to an F."

Q: Who was influential and impactful in your life?

A: The act of reading. The act of reading. I can’t say any particular author, but reading made me want to write.

Q: Had you not written, had The Outsiders book not been published, where would you have been today?

A: I'd have been married to a movie star. That was my B plan.

Q: Any particular one?

A: I could change my mind over the years.

Q: The movie was classic. It launched the careers of so many great young actors. What was that experience like for you?

A: Oh, that was really great because Francis (Ford Coppola) shot it here in town. He wanted me on the set all the time and I was on the set all the time.

I co-wrote the screenplay with him…those little boys, they didn’t have any authority figure with them. They were just turned loose with nobody to look out for them. So I decided I’d be their mother. I was…And I’m still real close to all of them today.

Q: When you heard about the opportunity to turn this into a musical, what kind of conversations happened? And were there ever any reservations?

A: Well, the people that approached me had good credentials, and I know nothing about making a musical. I'm always like, you know, let the professionals do it.

Q: So what was your reaction when you saw it in New York?

A: Oh my God, so many improvements were made. I was just dumbfounded. I mean, it was so, so good...I mean it's amazing. And, the cast was great. The music's great. Choreography is great. The rumble will absolutely blow your mind.

Q: What do you think about the Broadway tour launching here in Tulsa?

A: I love it, I love it, yeah, I do, and I hope I get some free tickets.

Q: What kind of responses do you still get from people who read the book?

A: They loved it. Which is, you know, better than I hated it. It changed my life. I don't like to hear it change my life. Because who am I to change anybody's life?

So, I just tell them it's the message, not the messenger…And they do say it's changed the way I look at people, which I'm very glad, because, you know…Take a look at the people you think are below you.

Q: How do you want people to remember you?

A: Well, if I'm dead, I probably won't care. If you remember me or not, I. I just hope they always remember that I’m friendly, supportive, and very private.