TULSA, Okla. — Eight Will Rogers College Middle and High School students are getting a golden opportunity as they look to fly to New York City to see The Outsiders Musical.
S.E. Hinton's "The Outsiders":
S.E. Hinton was a teenager walking the halls of Will Rogers when she wrote the famous book.
It was published in 1967 when she was 19 years old. For many, it’s the book that launched the young adult genre.
The book started her career, but Hinton said she never liked the fame and it led her to struggle with other writings.
She later regained ground, writing eight more books and four being turned into movies. Francis Ford Coppola adapted "The Outsiders" into a film in1983.
The film left a mark on Tulsa filming on location where Hinton wrote the novel. The film starred many notable actors such as Tom Cruise, Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe and Ralph Macchio in some of their first film roles.
The film is widely celebrated with the actors often popping back to Tulsa to visit their on-set stopping grounds.
WATCH: Look at the legacy of "The Outsiders" in Tulsa:
New The Outsider Musical:
The new Broadway musical recently premiered in New York City with many Tulsans making the trip to watch the show.
In preparation for the musical the cast and crew came to Tulsa to tour the movie sites and connect with the city it's set in.
- Previous story>>> Angelina Jolie to lead produce Broadway-bound 'The Outsiders' Musical
One of their stops included Rogers High School. Now, eight students from that school are going to see the show on Broadway.
The eight students earned their ticket on the trip based on an essay assignment. The students told 2 News they thought the essay was just an assignment until they were offered the trip of a lifetime.
"I was just told it was an essay at first," said 11th-grade student Ganiyah Dorsey. "It was starting to come into play that everything was going to be approved, that we would be going to New York to see it all in action."
Both the drama teacher and principal said Dorsey's essay wowed them. She told 2 News she just connected with the characters.
Principal Cindy Largent-Williams said the students selected have a unique appreciation for the experience.
"It was really important to us that the students selected were also involved in drama here at Rogers. So we developed an essay that asked them to talk about the themes from The Outsiders and also what it would be like seeing the musical live on Broadway," said Largent-Williams.
While the students are going to NYC, the story they’ll see is one born at home. Ahnya Olive said that is the cool part about reading the book.
"It is actually kind of cool knowing that you are getting to go to New York City to actually see it and then knowing that it was actually in the school that you’re at," said Olive.
Olive and Dorsey said the trip is their first time going to the Big Apple.
For Largent-Williams she hopes the show can come to the school's stage.
"We would love to see our drama students perform on our stage scenes from "The Outsiders." That would be spectacular," said Largent-Williams.
The students take the trip in early May. They leave a few days after the book will celebrate its 57th anniversary.
It was funded by the Will Rogers High School Community Foundation as well as the Ron and Carole Woods Foundation.
If you would like to donate to future adventures, visit the Will Rogers Community Foundation website.
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