Emerson Inside the Tonys: Alums Co-Produce ‘The Outsiders’

Eric Cornell’s (’05) Cornice Productions and Marylee Fairbanks ’88 are on the production team of The Outsiders, nominated for 12 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, announced on April 30.

And Ari Conte ’15 is a co-producer of Suffs, nominated for 6 Tonys, including Best Musical.

The Outsiders, directed by Danya Taymor, was adapted from S.E. Hinton’s 1967 novel and Francis Ford Coppola’s 1983 film. It tells the story of a group of “greasers” in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the bonds between them, and their struggle to belong in a world that doesn’t accept them.

The musical’s book was written by Adam Rapp and Justin Levine, with music and lyrics by Levine and Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance). In addition to Cornell and Fairbanks, its production team includes actress Angelina Jolie and American Zoetrope, the Coppola family’s production company.

Among the dozen nominations it received are Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score Written for the Theatre, Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical (Brody Grant), Best Performance an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical (Sky Lakota-Lynch and Joshua Boone), Best Scenic Design of a Musical, Best Lighting Design of a Musical, Best Sound Design of a Musical, Best Direction of a Musical, Best Choreography, and Best Orchestrations.

Cornell and his Cornice co-owner Jack Sennott won a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical for Oklahoma! in 2019, a year after co-founding Cornice.

Suffs, written by Shaina Taub and boasting a production team that includes Hillary Rodham Clinton and Malala Yousafzai, is set in 1913 and follows a group of suffragists as they fight for the right to vote. In addition to Best Musical, it’s nominated for Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score Written for the Theatre, Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical (Nikki M. James), Best Costume Design of a Musical (Paul Tazewell), and Best Direction of a Musical (Leigh Silverman).

The Tony Awards will be held Sunday, June 16, 7:00 pm ET, and televised on CBS and Paramount+.