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Buzz Feed
07-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
Jason Schmidt On 'Outsiders' Broadway Role & Songwriting
Whether he's belting out a tune on the Broadway stage or headlining a concert, Jason Schmidt knows how to capture an audience. The multi-talented performer has made waves with his acting, recently appearing as Buddy in Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies, original music, and his Broadway debut. To celebrate the release of his new single '7 Stars," I stopped by the Jacobs Theatre to catch up with Jason about portraying Sodapop Curtis in Broadway's The Outsiders, and his journey into songwriting. Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity. BuzzFeed: I grew up reading The Outsiders, and it's connected with so many people all over the world. What is your own connection to the book? Jason: Growing up, my dad would read to me and my three sisters — he read us The Outsiders, the Percy Jackson books, The Hunger Games, all those. I can still remember images in my head as he read to us, where I pictured the Socs as kind of large and spooky! At the beginning of our show, when the Socs first jump Ponyboy, that scene feels a lot like how I envisioned them as a kid. The Outsiders was also my mom's favorite movie for a long time. She loved Matt Dillon [who played Dally in the film], and so I watched the movie when I was younger as well. How about your connection specifically to Sodapop? In the show, he's the middleman between Darry [Darrel] and Pony, and I think that's who I am a lot of the time. I'm the people pleaser, I'm making sure everyone is laughing and having a good time, and so I really resonate with that plot line and his arc. When Soda snaps at the end, it comes from having fought the whole show to keep Darrel and Ponyboy in good graces with each other, and it's not working. As soon as I read for Soda, he was a character that I felt was right down the middle for me. Honestly, he's taught me a lot about the looseness of life. In another S.E. Hinton novel, Tex, she says, "Some people go, some people stay," and he's definitely someone who stays. He loves Tulsa, and he loves his life there. Soda doesn't ask for much. If more comes, that's great. If it doesn't, he goes with the flow. I'm not like that — I'm someone who holds onto life pretty tightly. So that's where he differs from me, and I think I'm learning to let go a bit more and go with the flow. You have a great sense of comedic timing, and Soda has his share of humorous moments in the show. Are any of these moments improvised? Thank you! They're very scripted. Adam Rapp wrote them amazingly. In the early days of the process, there'd be a little improvising here and there, but with planning around a national tour and all that, they want it to be a repeatable show. We've locked into the script as it is for the most part. I'm always playing around with how a line lands and the timing of it. It's funny — at this point, I probably have four or five versions of every line that I know work well. Some nights, I'll try a different version. But if I'm tired or something, I'm gonna go with the tried and true delivery (laughs). For the most part, I try to listen and be responsive to the other actors in the scene. I think that humor is such an important part of the show because it's so dark. A lot of sad stuff happens, and there's not a lot of comedy. It's nice to get the audience to laugh a little bit, like before "Runs in the Family (Reprise)" where Pony and Darrel get in a fight. I love playing a role that brings the humor and lightens it up for a moment. While Soda adds humor to the show, he also has a really emotional scene at the end of Act 2. Is it difficult to get into that more emotional headspace? Not really, to be honest. Beneath the comedy, Soda is using it as a defense mechanism, and he's using it to cut through the emotional moments that his brothers are dealing with. So while he's very comedic, there's always an undertone of reality. Soda is not the most book-smart, but he is very emotionally intelligent; he really understands other people, where they're at, and what they need. That keeps me kind of locked into the reality of the show, which makes it pretty easy to slip in. I also think the writing is incredible, so it just leads me right along. The music of The Outsiders has many fan-favorite songs, especially "Throwing in the Towel." What is your favorite part of performing it? I love performing that song with whoever is on for Darrel that night, usually Brent Comer most of the time. I love doing it with Dan Berry, Victor Carrillo Tracey, and John Patrick Collins as well. It's such a beautiful connection of brothers. I remember growing up, there was a mentor of mine who I really wanted to do a duet with. And we were like, which song should we do? It was pretty evident there's not a lot of male and male duets to sing together, so I love being in a show that provides so many. It's such a special moment between the brothers. Hearing how men have been impacted by the show is super important to me. We've watched brothers kind of lean their heads on each other's shoulders, and put their arms around each other as they watch the show. I think that's the most special part of "Throwing in the Towel." When you're in between scenes, what is the vibe like backstage? We're having so much fun! Whoever's on for Darrel, we're backstage together the whole time, messing around. We're just chatting it up in between scenes, and we've got fun things backstage like our whiteboard. There's always something on the board like 'This or That,' where everyone marks their tallies. That's always fun. I have a great time in my dressing room with Daryl Tofa [who plays Two-Bit]. We write all sorts of little ditties. The rumble is one of the most unique moments I've ever seen on a Broadway stage. Can you tell me about what goes through your mind when you perform that scene? At this point, it's pretty much muscle memory, though they've added more rain than we used to have. I'm really focused on the actions and making sure everyone's safe. A lot of nights, we're joking around on stage, and whispering in each other's ears, things like that, especially when we hold in a position. Davis Wayne is my main partner in the scene, and we have fun whispering stuff to each other. It's this huge, violent scene, but everyone's just giggling, and saying jokes, and being nice to each other. Early on in previews, the band told us that they could hear all of our mics in the pit, and loved hearing how funny everybody was. It's such a cool scene and we know the impact it has, but when you're in it, it's about safety and having fun, and lightening the tension on stage. I remember watching you all perform the rumble at the 2024 Tony Awards! Oh yeah, I blacked out, for sure. I mean, the adrenaline's crazy. There's a thing you talk about, red light fever, where you need to be more careful when the adrenaline is up, because your body would do more than you normally do. We all talked about that before the performance, but it was so fun. It was like the best 10 minutes of my life. Theo Wargo / Via Getty Images I definitely want to chat about your original music. What inspired you to get into songwriting? I had two close friends in college who really inspired me to delve into it more. It's something I was always very interested in. I started writing in high school, but none of that stuff was good (laughs). My friend Andy was releasing his first album freshman year of college. I asked him questions about producing the music and releasing it, and he really inspired me to keep writing. Once I got going, it just snowballed, and I was writing all the time. What I love about songwriting is it's a form of self-exploration and self-expression. The exploration part of it is super rewarding for me, and it's very journalistic, so I can find a lot of things about myself through doing it. Sometimes I'll write a song and not really know what it means, and then months later, I'll finally understand! Jason Schmidt / Via The Outsiders I love your new single, "7 Stars." What was it like writing that song? Thank you so much! It was very special, partially because it was my first session with the producer, Simon Gooding, and it was the first thing we ever wrote together. Now we've been writing a lot more music together, but this was the session that was like, "Oh yeah, this dynamic definitely works." A lot of the songs I write are super personal to my life. "7 Stars" definitely has a taste of that, but it was kind of a story I invented in my head, and let my imagination run wild. Where I grew up in Arlington Heights, a lot of people will go to the same three or four colleges, and then they'll come back and get a job there. I definitely was somebody who left. I love the suburbs of Chicago. I'd love to be back there at some point, someday, but I knew that for my life, I needed to move out and to leave. Writing about people who got stuck there, but knew they were born to leave, was a super fun experience for me. I know tons of people like that; I feel like that in my life. I think I'm an explorer. I don't love staying in one place for too long. That kind of "born-to-leave energy" will pop up at certain places. Like, it's time to move on and continue with this crazy journey. What's up next for your music? I'm really excited! When I started releasing music, I was pretty young. Now, there's more planning and preparation that goes into it. I think when you listen to my first EPs, the styles are pretty varied, and I didn't exactly know what I wanted a 'Jason Schmidt' song to be. I've been writing for a long time, and I feel like we've really narrowed what I want my music to sound like and the story I want to tell. I'm very excited for people to hear that final sound. "7 Stars" is a taste of it, and I think the next stuff I'm doing really hits the pocket. So I'm very excited about that! Finally, you recently headlined a show at Elsewhere in Brooklyn. What is the biggest difference between performing on a Broadway stage versus a concert stage? Broadway is arguably easier, in some ways. It's scripted. For the most part, I know exactly what I'm going to do. You can practice it, and you can really rehearse it. With music, I never plan out what I'm gonna say about the songs, or where I'm gonna take breaks. When I see a concert, I think it's less fun when I can tell they've planned everything out. You're there to see the person, and I don't care if they flub or stumble over their words. I want to hear the artists' raw and unfiltered thoughts. I try to do that for myself, where I'm interacting with the crowd, and I'm essentially improvising. When I get off stage from my own shows, I feel like I poured all my energy into this last hour and a half. I think that's my goal with my music shows; I want to feel like I get off stage and have nothing left.
Buzz Feed
11-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
I Asked 10 Questions Backstage At Broadway's "The Outsiders" And Here Are The Incredible Insights I Learned
It's a chilly afternoon as I walk down 45th Street to the Jacobs Theatre. Making my way to the box office, I hear the cast rehearsing the Act 2 song "Trouble" while multiple groups of fans come in and out, looking for last-minute tickets to the evening performance. Brody meets me inside a few minutes later and happily offers to show me around. Outsiders star and Tony and Grammy nominee Brody Grant has had a whirlwind year, portraying Ponyboy Curtis, the youngest Curtis brother with dreams of leaving Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Tony Award-winning 'Best Musical' has made a huge splash on Broadway and is one of the city's most sought-after tickets. We walk backstage, where Brody spots stage manager Beverly Jenkins, who he introduces as "the best woman in the world." We wave to some of the cast on stage, and I'm struck by the camaraderie I can feel between the cast and crew, as well as the genuine fun they are having preparing for the show. I tell Brody about my front-row experience (the best way to see the show is at the front of the action, where the rubber 'dirt' they use comes flying off stage). "It was a lot of fun!" I say, "I collected some of it and put it with my playbill." Brody laughs. "I'm happy you enjoyed that," he says, taking a tiny handful of the 'dirt' on the stage and giving it to me. Brody points out a few props, like the Soc's Corvette, and I spot the tire used throughout the show. We sit to chat about The Outsiders and Brody's music, including his new single, "All Talk." Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity. BuzzFeed: Ponyboy opens the show, sitting on the tire and writing in a notebook. What are some things you write about? Brody: I always write a noun, an adjective, or a verb. Sometimes I write song lyrics. Sometimes, I'll start writing poetry. I'll always write down a prayer for our cast, crew, ushers, and everybody working on the show. God, let us soar safely. Give us the wings to fly, and let us do it safely. Because it is a physical show — it's intense! It was my grandfather's birthday recently, and so sometimes I'll write dedications. He turned 87 recently. That's awesome! Brody: There was a point when we were out of town when my Grandpa wasn't doing well, and I thought, I want to have something for him, something from the show to share with him. I went over to Justin [writer, Justin Levine] and Sky [Sky Lakota-Lynch portrays Johnny], and I was like, "Hey, could we do a little of 'Stay Gold,' and could we just sing it? I'll just do a harmony on the spot, and then I can just send it to him?" (Brody pulls up the video on his phone). He really liked it, and luckily, he's all good. "Stay Gold" used to be performed only by Johnny but eventually became what it is now, which has Ponyboy and Johnny singing in harmony. It is so special to me that moment organically got its way into "Stay Gold." It makes me feel like my grandfather will always be a part of this show. Even when I'm not in the show anymore, that part of us will always be there. How do you stay in shape for so many performances a week? Brody: I just saw my trainer this morning. His name is Corey, and he's a great guy. It's helpful to do things to prevent injury because it is an intense piece of theater — it is specifically athletic. You're moving on uneven ground, and it's wet from the rain, and you're tired, you know, when it's the second act of the second show of the day. I also like to practice mindfulness. I like to put my phone down, take deep breaths, and not text people back right away. I think that's totally healthy. I try to stretch. Pretty much as soon as I get to the building, I'm warming up; I'm doing the lip trills; I'm doing the straw phonation and all that. The show is a workout, and speaking for the role that I play, you have to spend time outside of it to make sure that your body is functioning right because it is a deceivingly physical part. Speaking of intense scenes, we need to chat about the rumble. What was it like learning the choreography? Brody: It is a dance, you know what I mean? It's a fight, but it's a dance. The Kuperman brothers, who are brilliant, have been working on it since the workshop, even before we did our out-of-town production in La Jolla. Fun fact — we did a six-week workshop before the show opened where I was actually Sodapop [Ponyboy's older brother]. The Kuperman brothers kind of put it together there and then finessed it on their own time. Between that time and now, it's been such a gradual evolution. There are parts that have been in it since that workshop, like that moment where Ponyboy gets sucked into the clump, and then he does a kick in the air. What's going through your mind when you perform it? Brody: What's going through my head at that moment is to look alive, plant my feet, plié, and make sure my knees are bent so I can stay mobile. It's hyperactive, and it's raining — half the time, I forget it's raining once it starts. Also, to breathe in and out through the nose because that helps everything stay cool. You're also just staying aware and trying to be mindful of all your scene partners. In the moments where it doesn't have to be super harsh or anything, you just kind of take it easy. There's a moment where I've got someone in a lock. And whenever I do that, I'm literally patting their shoulder, I'm like, "Yeah, we got this." Sometimes I'll sing a song (laughs). Just finding those moments — our Director, Danya Taymor, calls them soft landings. Even when things are intense, find one moment just to breathe, just to be like, "We're good, yeah?" and then keep going. It is an incredible scene. The Kupermans, our lighting designer, our projection designer, and our director all came together in such an amazing way. Adam Rapp is the book writer for our show. We would do these workshops where we would just kind of sit and read the show, and he'd read the stage directions. And his stage direction for the rumble — it's the coolest stage direction I've ever read. Ponyboy has so many great songs in the show. Do you have a personal favorite to perform? Brody:"Great Expectations" is such a beautiful song. The music of The Outsiders is written by Justin Levine and a band, Jamestown Revival, and they're amazing. They drew from Bill Withers, and Bob Dylan, and Bruce Springsteen, and so a lot of the songs are that structure: verse, chorus, verse, chorus, sometimes maybe a bridge, chorus, like a set folk or pop song. And "Great Expectations" is so different, almost like a stream of consciousness! Brody: It is, and I texted Justin Levine, great guy, and I was like, "What is the formula for this song? It's not like an A, B, A, B, C, B, structure song," and he broke it down for me. It's so cool because when that song is its best, I feel like it's a perfect combination between Frank Ocean and Les Mis — something orchestral, but then something very soulful, like Frank. It's the hardest to sing in the show by a long shot. Even beyond reaching the high notes, it's getting the words out. Because they are so important. You really are opened up to Ponyboy's heart and the way he sees people. Speaking of music, you recently released a song, "All Talk," that I saw got some Spotify Editorial playlisting! Can you share a bit about your songwriting? Brody: Before The Outsiders came to my life in the way that it is now, I was songwriting like crazy. Most of the time I spent in New York was working at the Flatiron Equinox, just waking up at 3 a.m. to get there (I had the graveyard shifts at Equinox), or just going and meeting people and writing songs. I was just really using social media to connect with producers and songwriters. "All Talk" was the first song I wrote when I moved to the city. This amazing guy named Michel, one of two of the duo Lucky Dog, reached out to me through Instagram, and we connected. As an independent artist right now, let's say the goal is to release one song a month. I say this knowing that it's challenging — this goal might change, it might not. I have a lot of songs that I went back to and thought, I need to release this into the world. I'm also looking to meet more songwriters and producers and just get to work, especially now that I'm in the rhythm of the show and that the awards are done. I really want to commit some time to that while also being in The Outsiders. (Brody shows me a demo of a new song he's working on — it's excellent!) You also went to the Grammy Awards recently! [ The Outsiders was nominated for Best Musical Theater Album]. How was that experience? Brody: It was one of the most amazing experiences. Also, congrats to Hell's Kitchen. They won 'Best Musical Theater', which I thought was awesome. Alicia Keys — she doesn't miss when it comes to the music; it's just like, wow! At the awards, I heard Bruno Mars start to sing, and I remember watching Bruno Mars absolutely kill it on the Super Bowl halftime show with Red Hot Chili Peppers. It changed my life. He's just an incredible artist. I look up to that guy so much artistically, and it made me emotional. While I was just sitting there, I looked over, and I saw, is that Bruno Mars in a cowboy hat? Nah, there's no way. And then he started singing with Lady Gaga, and I just lost it, like it was amazing. As I watched him walk off with his Grammy, I was just like, I want to be back here one day and perform as a nominee for my solo project. It was one of the best shows I've ever seen. When I saw the show on opening weekend, I ran into Angelina Jolie [producer] in the orchestra, and she was so wonderful to meet. What is it like working with her? Brody: She's really a brilliant woman, and as an artist, she is iconic. I would talk to her about some things in the show that I was dealing with creatively, and she always helped to kind of get me on my feet. She's also a very gracious person. Very often, usually once a week, she'll send these juice shots to our backstage, the ones with the ginger and the turmeric and all that. It really helps. It's been a real blessing to have her as a confidant, to be like, "Hey, I'm trying to navigate this scenario in my life or this scenario in the show." And she's just open. This is a great reminder to me, no matter how far you go in any given career, to try to keep that humility that she has. It's kind of how I felt when I watched Kendrick Lamar give his speech at the Grammys; I was just like, he's so humble. He's one of the best rappers in the entire world, and he's so humble. I haven't met Kendrick, though I hope to one day. To be that level, you need to keep a level head, you know? And I think she really possesses that — she's a great person. Also, for anyone who reads this, go and watch Maria! It's a great movie. She's phenomenal in the film. Ponyboy is a character who has connected with so many generations. What is your own connection with him? Brody: I could write a whole novel about it, but Ponyboy, he's an artist, and he's born into a space where that's not necessarily something you can just share with everybody. Ponyboy is a product of his environment, and he has to be tough. He has to at least try to just literally survive in his environment. I was born in Michigan. I lived on dirt roads, and that was my life. And going back to that town, what's crazy is, it hasn't changed. There are not a lot of opportunities there yet for artists, and I say yet because one day, I would like to help that along. When you're an artist, but you don't really know which way to go with it, you don't even know you could possibly be that — it just makes a young person feel lost. I think I felt that way for a long time. I also resonate with Ponyboy as a person. He's very observant, and he tries to learn not only from his mistakes but from other people's. He tries to be content with what he has, which I really respect. I guess the biggest thing I could say is Ponyboy and I are thinkers. I also feel that Ponyboy, at least in my interpretation of him, is a bit spiritual. He talks about it in the book, like going to church with Johnny, and Two-Bit drops a Bible, and then they never go back because they're too embarrassed. But I grew up singing in church choir, which was an amazing experience. I just feel like I always responded to music and was interested in the poetry of the music. And I think Ponyboy is very much like that — the fact that he's the type of person where he looks at the sunset and then he's reminded of a poem. I think there's something very spiritual about him. Susie Hinton [author of The Outsiders ] spoke to a group of the cast about how Ponyboy is kind of the most unfiltered version of herself, just on the page. I also feel that deeply. I feel that a great piece of art, like a show like this, can touch people's spirits, touch people's hearts and souls, and hopefully open them for the better.
