The Outsiders is partnering with the coalition No Book Bans in recognition of Banned Books Week, September 22-28, to shine a light on the Books Save Lives Act.
During the week, The Outsiders will sponsor a book drive and encourage audience members to contact their Congressional representatives regarding the Books Save Lives Act, unveiled by Massachusetts Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley in 2023. Finally, the week will culminate in a post-performance talk back following the evening performance on Saturday, September 28, moderated by the show’s Tony Award-winning director Danya Taymor, featuring Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, Nick Higgins (Chief Librarian at Brooklyn Public Library), Dan Novack (Vice President and Associate General Counsel at Penguin Random House) and others.
Since its publication in 1967, S. E. Hinton’s The Outsiders has been on the American Library Association’s Top 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books list time and time again. The Outsiders would not exist on Broadway without Hinton’s original text. The production is sponsoring a public book drive to accept donations of new or gently used books throughout Banned Books Week at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre and at the Drama Book Shop. Tickets to the production are not necessary to donate to the book drive.
First organized in 2022, No Book Bans is a coalition of theatre artists, theatres for young people, and other organizations opposing efforts to ban books and works of theatre from young people.
Introduced by Massachusetts Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley in 2023, the Books Save Lives Act was created to help ensure an inclusive learning environment and counteract the harm of book bans across the country.
Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in libraries, bookstores, and schools. The annual event highlights the value of free and open access to information and brings together the entire book community — librarians, educators, authors, publishers, booksellers, and readers of all types — in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas. The theme of this year’s event is Freed Between the Lines. By focusing on efforts across the country to remove or restrict access to books, Banned Books Week draws national attention to the harms of censorship.
Books Unbanned responds to an increasingly coordinated and effective effort to remove books tackling a wide range of topics from library shelves in schools and public libraries nationwide. Founded by Brooklyn Public Library in 2022, partnering libraries provide free digital library cards to teens across the country to enhance access to frequently banned materials and support the freedom to read.
The Outsiders features a book by Tony Award nominee Adam Rapp with Tony Award winner Justin Levine, music and lyrics by Tony Award nominees Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay & Zach Chance) and Justin Levine, music supervision, orchestration & arrangements by Justin Levine, choreography by Tony Award nominees Rick Kuperman & Jeff Kuperman and is directed by Tony Award winner Danya Taymor.
