‘This was truly meant for me’: Marietta native cast in ‘The Outsiders’

In 2024, about a year after Cobb County native Christian Arredondo graduated with a degree in musical theater from Pace University in New York City, his hometown friend and fellow actor Ava Zegers came to visit him.

The two grew up in Marietta with dreams of Broadway and the Big Apple. They performed in musical theater together for years, sharing the stage in productions at East Side Elementary School and Walton High School.

During their New York visit, they were giddy to see “The Outsiders: A New Musical,” a theatrical adaptation of S.E. Hinton’s book and Francis Ford Coppola’s film that debuted in 2024. The musical is currently touring for the first time, with a stop at Atlanta’s Fox Theatre Nov. 25-30 as part of the Regions Bank Broadway in Atlanta series.

Walton High School alumni and Marietta native Christian Arredondo plays swing as an understudy for the parts of Johnny Cade and Ponyboy Curtis. He is also part of the production’s live vocal ensemble.

Though Arredondo had never read the book (famously written by Hinton at 15), nor seen the film (which starred young future stars Matt Dillon, Tom Cruise, Ralph Macchio, Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe and Emilio Estevez), he had become obsessed with the music.

The score for the musical was written by American folk-rock duo Jamestown Revival and Justin Levine (acclaimed composer of “Moulin Rouge! The Musical”). The music is a catchy mix of blues, country and Americana that resonated with Arredondo.

“It is the most perfect score,” he said. “It makes you want to tap your foot and makes you want to cry … I sort of learned to sing in that way, so my tone is tailored to that (style).”

Arredondo and Zegers woke up at sunrise to buy tickets. By 7 a.m., they were standing in front of Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre on West 45th Street in a long line of patrons ready to rush the box office.

They secured tickets, and that night, they sat in box seats watching characters Ponyboy Curtis and Johnny Cade on the run after a fatal clash between the Greasers and the Socs.

The Greasers and the Socs get in a fatal clash in "The Outsiders: A New Musical," coming to Atlanta Nov. 25-30. Picture from 'The Outsiders' North American Tour. (Courtesy of Matthew Murphy)

The Socials, aka the Socs, are a rival group to The Greasers in "The Outsiders: A New Musical," based on the S.E. Hinton book and Francis Ford Coppola film. The touring musical production will stop at Atlanta's Fox Theatre Nov. 25-30. Picture from 'The Outsiders' North American Tour. (Courtesy of Matthew Murphy)

The musical was better than either Arredondo or Zegers had anticipated, but it floored Arredondo. He had unknowingly caught a glimpse of his own future.

“We were both sobbing by the end of the first act,” he said. “I turned to her and said, ‘I need to do this one day. I need to.’ I have chills talking about it right now.”

Arredondo later told his agent about his desire to be cast in the national tour of “The Outsiders,” which by 2024 had won a Tony Award for Best Musical.

In February of this year, his agent scored him the chance to audition for the Tara Rubin Casting company, a national Broadway office in charge of casting the national tour of “The Outsiders.”

The process was tedious. Arredondo made the first cut. Then the second. And the third. He danced in his fourth, then did a reading for the fifth. He met with director Danya Taymor, then read material for her entire team of producers. The casting gauntlet took months. Then began the waiting game.

“I waited and I waited and I waited some more and (after about seven weeks) was like, ‘OK, I guess maybe this wasn’t my thing,’” Arredondo said.

But then one night, just after clocking in for his night shift as a server at Union Square Café, he got a message from his agent.

“I ran outside with my apron on and my pen and notepad in hand, called my agent, and he gave me the news. I started crying on 19th Street,” Arredondo remembered.

He would not only be singing as part of the production’s live vocal ensemble — he would also play swing as an understudy for both protagonists Ponyboy and Johnny.

Bonale Fambrini (left) and Tyler Jordan Wesley (right) play Johnny and Ponyboy, respectively, in "The Outsiders: A New Musical." The North American Tour is stopping in Atlanta Nov. 25-30. (Courtesy of Matthew Murphy)

The touring production premiered in Buffalo in September.

In early November, during the tour’s stop in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where the book is set, Arredondo got his first opportunity to play Johnny Cade.

“Stepping into Johnny Cade for the first time — in Tulsa — was surreal,” he said. “We even got to meet S.E. Hinton. It was the coolest thing ever.”

In Nashville, where Zegers lives, Arredondo was surprised by another chance to play Johnny. He found out on a Sunday morning and scrambled to get Zegers a ticket for the matinee that afternoon. He messaged her once the ticket was waiting for her at the box office.

“She was freaking out,” Arredondo remembered. “She said, ‘No way. No way. You’re lying. This is crazy.’”

From the audience, Zegers bragged to people in the crowd that her best friend was playing Johnny. Afterward, she watched as Arredondo signed Playbills for fans. It reminded them both of being teenagers, begging for signatures from actors after seeing productions at Atlanta’s Fox Theatre.

“It was a whole full-circle moment,” Arredondo said.

The circle will continue this week when “The Outsiders” stops at the Fox for five shows. His parents and (hopefully) his high school theater mentors — Walton High School teachers Joymichelle Green and Susan Griffin — will be in the crowd. Arredondo credits Green and Griffin with helping him believe in his talent.

“They are the only reason I pursued theater in college and the only reason I am here today,” Arredondo said.

The timing of the Atlanta tour stop — Thanksgiving week — is fitting.

“This was truly meant for me,” Arredondo said. “I can’t believe how kismet it all feels.”