Lance Avery Morgan
Go Inside The Personal Histories, Creative Instincts, And Bold Choices Behind One Of The Most Successful Musicals In America. Here’s How Two Producers Turned A Beloved Book Into A Movement Spanning Broadway, TikTok, And The Country At Large
Photography of “The Outsiders” by Matthew Murphy
If theater had a Thelma and Louise duo, minus the cliff, yet included a Broadway run, it would be Laura Galt and Kathleen Irvin Loughlin. One hails from the red dirt roots of Oklahoma and now calls Austin home; the other is a documentary-curious Texan who trusted her instincts and landed in one of the buzziest Broadway hits of the decade. Together, they’re part of the producing force behind The Outsiders, the musical adaptation of S.E. Hinton’s American classic that has captivated audiences from Tulsa to Times Square. Our theater superfan, Lance Avery Morgan, caught up with the dynamos to learn more about their theatrical success.
A Tale Of Two Paths, One Story
For Laura Galt, the road to The Outsiders, which is based on the 1983 cult film classic, began long before the project itself existed. She grew up in Oklahoma and now lives in Austin, carrying those landscapes in her bones. The world of which S.E. Hinton wrote, the neighborhoods, the class divides, the family dynamics, wasn’t fiction so much as a mirror. The characters, the Curtis brothers’ experience, echoed her own mother’s upbringing: three sisters navigating life without their mother, relying on each other to make sense of the world.
So, when Laura learned in 2018 that a musical version was in development, and that Texas musicians Jamestown Revival were penning the score, she stepped in immediately. Here was a story written in Tulsa, shaped by regional identity, and now being reimagined by Texas artists. It wasn’t just a creative opportunity; it was a form of cultural stewardship.
Kathleen Irvin Louglin entered the story in a different way. She had dipped her toes into documentary filmmaking early on. Still, she wasn’t yet entrenched in the theatrical world when she attended a Kappa Kappa Gamma alumna event in 2022 and crossed paths with Laura. That conversation changed everything.
The fact that S.E. Hinton herself was connected to the musical’s script hooked her right away. Similarly, the thematic resonance was evident: post-pandemic, when the world was fractured and uncertain, she sought out stories centered on family, connection, and emotional truth. The Outsiders offered all three, and then some.
Two women, two paths…but the same instinct when they felt something extraordinary.
What Makes This Project Different
Producing theatre is not for the faint of heart. Laura and Kathleen have both navigated significant creative ventures, but The Outsiders stands apart for reasons both deeply personal and distinctly professional.
For Laura, the show is a rare convergence of her identities: artist, educator, regional advocate, and storyteller. She sees the musical as both a gripping work of art and a love letter to Oklahoma and Texas. Long before Broadway discovered the show, she was already meeting with state and local leaders, arts commissions, and cultural organizations to build support. She recognized the potential for the production to elevate regional stories and literacy. As a speech-language pathologist whose mother was one of Oklahoma’s first special-education teachers, she holds a deep belief in the show’s power to inspire hesitant readers to open the book finally.
Kathleen, who trusted the creative team instinctively, saw something else: the timelessness of the story. Its themes: belonging, identity, class divides, the deep desire to be seen, hit just as powerfully today as they did in 1967. She felt it in her bones from her very first reading.
Texas: Where Independence Meets Belonging
The producers agree: Texas is the perfect place for this tour to thrive.
Texas prides itself on independence, audacity, and individuality. But it also stands on community, loyalty, and the unshakable belief that you don’t walk through life alone. Those dual forces animate The Outsiders, which is precisely why audiences from Dallas to San Antonio to Houston (and way beyond) respond so viscerally.
S.E. Hinton provided a rich thematic canvas, one that the production team amplified through performance, design, and music. The result is a show that speaks equally to teens, nostalgic adults, and first-time theatergoers.
The High-Wire Act of Producing Theatre
Maintaining a show’s financial soundness and creative vitality is a delicate balancing act that involves stakeholders, including investors, creative teams, technical crews, and audiences. Laura boils the secret down to one word: teamwork.
The entire Broadway creative team helped launch the tour, ensuring that audiences around the country would experience a show every bit as breathtaking as the New York production. Their general management team, which also oversees Wicked, provides the structure, discipline, and institutional knowledge required to keep a touring production on track.
Kathleen adds another layer: investor management. Passionate investors can catapult a show… or derail it. The magic lies in honoring creativity while maintaining financial clarity and discipline. In this case, she says, the lead production company set the gold standard.
Behind the Curtain: Challenges, Surprises & The Magic of Technology
Does reimagining a Broadway show for the road require creativity and innovation? You bet, and here are some of the highlights:
Fire without fire: The Broadway production uses real flames. The tour relies on smoke and lighting effects so that audiences don’t miss a flicker.
Rain that must be “dried” after each performance: Innovative backstage equipment allows crews to dry drenched flooring quickly enough to enable Sunday move-outs.
A physically intense show: Understudies must be ready to leap in, sometimes without full rehearsal. In Austin and San Antonio, the Ponyboy and Johnny swings debuted cold and still delivered knockout performances.
Evolving audience engagement: This is where Kathleen’s daughter comes in. A 16-year-old theatre lover who gets her news almost exclusively from TikTok, she represents the modern audience, and the production’s marketing team understood that from the very beginning. Behind-the-scenes content, cast storytelling, and social media community-building have become extensions of the show’s emotional core.
Set evolution: The tour’s set design maintains the gritty beauty of the Broadway version: vintage cars, dirt, grime, and shadows, but adapts it seamlessly for travel.
What They Hope Audiences Take Home
Laura hopes audiences hear the call to “stay gold”… to embrace empathy, resilience, and the understanding that “we all come from different places and start from different lines.” And she hopes the show sparks a love of literacy, especially among young viewers.
Kathleen hopes audiences walk away more open-minded, more aware that the dividing lines of society are thinner and more fragile than we think. In 2025, she says, that awareness feels urgent.
Advice To Aspiring (Especially Female) Producers
Laura’s advice is simple. “Find collaborators who believe in you, and don’t wait for permission. If a story speaks to you, start wherever you are.” Kathleen’s advice is also “gold.” She recommends “trust your instincts. If something feels meaningful, necessary, or timely… follow that pull.
Next Up: From Greasers To Julia Child
The duo’s next project is The Recipe, premiering at the La Jolla Playhouse in February–March 2026. The play explores how the ingredients of one’s life: joy, failure, curiosity, and chaos, all combine to shape a person, told through the remarkable life of Julia Child.
Meanwhile, The Outsiders continues its open-ended Broadway run, with the national tour booked through December 2027 (and poised for extension). Its next Texas stop is Houston, November 18–23, 2025, and it will also be touring throughout the U.S. through September 2026.
From the page to the stage to communities across the country, Laura Galt and Kathleen Irvin Loughlin are redefining what it means to tell regional stories with national reach and reminding audiences everywhere that “staying gold” isn’t just a line from a book. It’s a way of showing up in the world.
