LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. – Recently, the students of Los Alamitos High School drama lit up the stage with their performance of “The Outsiders.” The play took place in the Performing Arts Center at LAHS from Jan. 23-25.  Everything from acting to the props, costumes and sets was curated by student efforts.

Seeing “The Outsiders” live onstage was even better than reading it in class. The actors did a wonderful job bringing their characters to life. Along with the engaging main cast, the ensemble also added much depth to the story. The actors’ commitment to their characters was easy to see.

“You have to put time and hours into the show,” Ponyboy actor Mason Potter said. “There’ve been nights where I have to go home at 8:30-9 p.m., but it’s all for a good cause. We like doing what we do for the show, and we like putting the commitment into it.”

The choices of clothing and costume style contributed in a major way to visually understanding the characters. From Sodapop’s garage uniform to Darry’s stiff button-up and Dallas’ leather jacket, all the costumes enhanced the quality of the show.

The background and set pieces were also incredible. Emphasizing the original setting of the Greasers from the book, the set’s detailed structures were very impressive. The set crew did an amazing job showing the Greaser’s rough side of town with sharp, rusty metal and junkyard scraps. 

Even the sound and lighting effects astounded the audience. The scene of the church fire erupted with colorful smoke, giving the illusion of fire and making the scene feel immersive and intense. The sound effect of the Socs’ blue Mustang driving past was also a nice detail, and the lighting during the drive-in movie theater scene felt like it was coming from an old movie projector.

The Orange County Cappies loved the show as well. The Cappies is a writing program that trains journalism and theater students to be expert critics and writers. Participating schools assemble a team of three to nine students and two adult volunteers. The teams then visit other schools’ performances to write about the technical and performance aspects of the show, sending the reviews to the school and local news outlets.

For senior cast and crew members, “The Outsiders” was their last main stage performance at LAHS, so they put maximum effort into conveying the storyline and essence of the characters to leave a positive legacy. Student volunteers set up tables to sell snacks and merchandise for the play. The drama department created jean jackets graffitied with “stay gold,” homaging the iconic line from Johnny to Ponyboy, and sold small pins to commemorate the performance experience.