Exclusive Interview: Devin Tyler Hatch on ‘The Outsiders,’ His Broadway Debut, and the Power of Possibility

For Devin Tyler Hatch, The Outsiders represents more than a Broadway debut. It’s a full-circle moment. After first connecting with S.E. Hinton’s novel as a dreamer growing up in North Carolina, Devin now steps onto the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre stage eight times a week as Brill, bringing one of literature’s most enduring coming-of-age stories to life for a new generation.

Since joining the company, Devin has grown alongside the production. Recently stepping into the role of interim assistant dance captain, he’s embraced the opportunity to mentor his fellow cast members while gaining a deeper appreciation for the trust, collaboration, and leadership that keep one of Broadway’s most celebrated musicals running night after night. Like Ponyboy, Devin approaches both life and his craft with an enduring sense of curiosity, finding new meaning in the story with every performance.

Pop Culturalist recently caught up with Devin Tyler Hatch to discuss making his Broadway debut, the artistry behind the show’s breathtaking rumble sequence, the importance of chosen family, and why The Outsiders‘ message of possibility continues to resonate both onstage and off.

PC: In The Outsiders, Ponyboy has such a deep connection to storytelling, whether it’s literature or film, and it really shapes the way he sees the world. Was there a piece of art that affected you in a similar way and helped set you on this path as an artist?
Devin: The first thing that comes to mind, which is a little cheesy, is this show. Being an outsider is something we can all relate to in one way or another. There are over eight billion people on Earth, and every single person has their own unique perspective and individuality.

I read this book in high school, and I was a big dreamer. I still am, much like Ponyboy. I went to high school in North Carolina in a very conservative town, but I always knew I wanted to perform and pursue something artistic in a place that was largely agricultural. I was that dreamer kid, and that’s why I connected with Ponyboy so deeply.

He loves his brothers so much, and that reflects the love I have for my own family and the people back home in North Carolina. But I also had this other side of me that knew I needed to leave, explore the world, and pursue something bigger. That’s why I think the message of this story is so powerful. It reminds people that they’re not alone.

PC: That’s so cool. It feels like a full-circle moment for you.
Devin: It really does. I’m sure there are other pieces of art that have inspired me, but right now I’m in The Outsiders, telling this story eight times a week. It’s a story I continue to connect with, and I still find myself viewing life through that outsider’s lens in this chapter of my life.

PC: I think that’s what audiences connect to with this piece in particular. You also got to make your Broadway debut with this production, which is something I imagine performers dream about their whole lives. What was it like finally stepping onto that stage for the first time? And how did the reality compare to what you had imagined?
Devin: The first thought I had was, “Who let me on this stage?” I could go rogue or completely forget something. But I reeled myself back in and thought, “Let’s do this.”

One of my friends in the show, Victor Carrillo Tracey, who currently plays Paul and was originally a swing, pulled me aside and said, “Take one moment to look out and realize this is your first and only Broadway debut. You might do other shows, but this is the only time you’ll ever make your Broadway debut. Take a second and attach a memory to that moment.” My whole family was there, which is really rare because we’re all so spread out. It was incredibly magical.

The biggest difference between the dream and the reality is just how much work it is. I would never trade what I do for a living. Every job is hard, but to be able to find fulfillment in your work is something not everyone gets to experience. At the end of the day, I get to connect with people. I get to move an audience, and I can feel that energy coming back. That’s incredibly fulfilling.

People don’t always see everything that goes into it. Like today, for example, we thought I’d have rehearsal. Last week I rehearsed until 4:15, and I would’ve run upstairs to my dressing room to do this interview. You’re constantly working, even when the audience doesn’t see it. I’m still adjusting to that. I still have days where I think, “Whoa, this is a lot of work.” But then I remind myself, “You signed up for this. Keep going.”

PC: I think Wes [Williams] did that exact thing when we chatted with him a few weeks back and ran up to the dressing room to take our call. That’s also so interesting because, as theatergoers, you don’t realize how much work goes into putting on a production. Even after a show has opened, you’re still training, rehearsing, and fine-tuning it every week.
Devin: Before making my Broadway debut, I did a few national tours, so I already had a grasp of the industry and how everything worked. But I had no idea what the demands of New York were until I got here. Now I’m performing for new audiences every week, and it’s not just rehearsals anymore. I’m scheduling auditions around rehearsals, working with choreographers, and showing up to auditions ready to give 100 percent, even on two-show days.

I go to the gym almost every day, mostly for physical therapy and maintenance rather than strength training. Then there’s eating well, making sure I get a full night’s sleep. I can’t operate on four hours of sleep. I feel like I’d end up hurting myself.

When you zoom out, you realize it’s really a lifestyle. If you want to stay healthy and perform at your best, everything you do has to support that. There’s a world where you could just show up, turn down auditions you don’t want, and do the show, but that’s not really the life of an actor. The grind is committing to that lifestyle every single day.

PC: That’s such a great insight because your body is your instrument. That’s actually the perfect segue into my next question. You’ve experienced life both on the road with touring productions and now as part of this Broadway company. How have those experiences challenged and fulfilled you in different ways as a performer?
Devin: Outside of the performing side of it, we were talking earlier about how I was deep-cleaning my apartment. I was dusting and thought, “This is something I’ve never gotten to do on tour,” because I was never in one place long enough. Now I’m settled in New York, and that’s probably the biggest difference.

Being here has given me a sense of community. I have my favorite restaurants, the people I see regularly, and even a pet store around the corner where I know the owner really well. You don’t really get to build those kinds of relationships when you’re constantly moving from city to city.

What’s similar, though, is that everything is still in service of the show. In New York, my auditions, side gigs, classes, and day-to-day life all revolve around the eight-show week I’m doing right now. On tour, it was the same mindset. I was a swing and dance captain, and now it’s my first time living the onstage life in a Broadway company. No matter where I am, I’m always serving the story.

PC: Spoken like a true artist. We touched on this before the call, but you recently announced you’re stepping into the role of assistant dance captain, which gives you the opportunity to support and mentor your fellow company members. One of the themes at the heart of The Outsiders is chosen family and brotherhood. What have you learned from taking on this new responsibility, and has it deepened your connection to those themes in a new way?
Devin: First, I should say I’m assisting because the great Cameron Burke is off doing Black Swan right now. I’m the interim assistant while he’s away, and when he comes back, I’ll be back to focusing on my Brill track.

It might sound a little cheesy, but stepping into this role has given me a glimpse of what Cameron experiences every day, and it’s a completely different job. My job as Brill, one of the ensemble Socs, is about stamina. It’s performing eight shows a week, staying healthy, staying strong, and being ready to go every time the curtain comes up.

As an assistant dance captain, though, the job is really about connection. You have to earn people’s trust. I want my castmates to know that if I’m asking them to adjust something onstage, it’s never personal. It’s about preserving the original creative vision of the show and helping all of us put our best work onstage. A dance captain is really the bridge between management and the company, so being a people person is just as important as knowing the choreography.

That absolutely connects to the show’s themes of chosen family. We really do become a family. Like any family, there are different personalities and dynamics, but we see each other six days a week. We rely on one another, and some of the people in this company have become my biggest support system.

One thing I’ve always loved about being a swing is getting to see the show from other people’s perspectives, and this role has expanded that even more. It’s helped me understand what my fellow actors need and how I can better support them when they’re having a tough day. More than anything, it’s taught me that leadership starts with connection. If people trust you, you can help them, and ultimately you make the entire company stronger.

PC: It goes back to what you were saying about being in service of the story. There’s also so much trust that’s required onstage, where anything can happen night after night, and you can really feel that. You’re on the Brill track but also understudy Bob/Cop. What’s it like getting the call that you’re switching tracks for the night? How does that change your process?
Devin: At this point, Brill has become part of my routine. I don’t mean the performance itself because every show is different. It’s an acting piece, and Danya [Taymor] really created something that feels like a play with music and dance surrounding it. Every night I’m reminding myself to stay open, stay present, and take in everything that’s happening around me.

If I get the call to go on as Bob, it’s a different mindset. The actor playing him now is incredibly reliable, just like the original Bob was, so it doesn’t happen very often. But when it does, I’ll go back through my notes because it’s a role I have to actively revisit. The goal is still the same, though. It’s about listening.

I have my own version of Bob, and one of the things I love is that Danya encourages every cover to find their own interpretation. We all have different ways of getting there, and she embraces that. It’s pretty incredible to have a director who’s still so involved in Year 3 of a production. We all feel really grateful for that. Once I have those pillars in place, I can respond to the actors around me and let Bob exist in that moment. That’s what’s so exciting. It goes back to seeing the story from different perspectives.

What’s fascinating about Bob is that he’s one of the show’s primary antagonists, but you can’t play him like a villain. He’s a young man whose father is incredibly demanding, someone who doesn’t allow mistakes and places enormous value on image and success. In the 1960s, reputation carried so much weight. Imagine being seventeen or eighteen years old and trying to live up to those expectations.

That’s how I find empathy for him. He’s done something terrible, and there’s no excusing that. But underneath it all, Bob is just a kid who desperately wants to be seen by the person whose approval matters most to him. When you understand that, you start to see how all of that pressure shaped who he became.

In many ways, that’s true of all the Socs. They’re all carrying expectations and pressures of their own. As an actor, it’s really rewarding to step into those shoes and help audiences see the humanity behind every character.

PC: Watching the show, what amazes me every single time is the lead-up to the rumble and the rumble itself. It feels so dangerous and unpredictable, especially once you add the rain into the equation. Obviously, there’s so much incredible choreography, trust, and precision behind it. As the interim assistant dance captain, what goes into training new company members for that sequence in particular? How are you able to maintain that balance between control and chaos?
Devin: We have dance captains, and we have fight captains, so the responsibilities are split. We actually think of the rumble in three different phases.

The first phase is the actual fighting, and that’s the fight captain’s territory. Stage combat is its own discipline, just like ballet or jazz. There’s a technique behind every punch, fall, and hit, and we learn what’s necessary for our individual tracks. Everything is designed so we can do it safely eight shows a week without hurting ourselves.

One thing we always talk about is “65.” I don’t know if anyone else from The Outsiders has mentioned it, but it means performing the fight at about 65 percent. The audience experiences thunder, rain, sound effects, and projections, so they’re completely immersed. We don’t have to go 100 percent physically for it to feel real.

In fact, going full out is when people get hurt. If I’m throwing a punch, I’m always thinking about stopping three or four inches from someone’s face. If I stop thinking about that, especially if I’m working with an understudy or someone new, somebody could actually get hit.

Before most performances, we have a fight and lift call, and the fight captain always reminds us, “65 for the stage.” Then the whole company repeats, “65.” It’s a way of making sure we’re all on the same page before we begin. Ironically, slowing a punch down just a little often makes it read better for the audience anyway.

The second phase is when everyone converges into that tight cluster, and the third is when we’re facing downstage, where the choreography becomes much more dance-driven. That’s where my role comes in more.

For me, it always comes back to intention. What story are we telling? The Socs have changed out of their bright clothes into these muted beige tones because, in the chaos, it becomes harder to tell who’s who. They’re no longer individuals. They’re part of something bigger.

As an actor, I also think about what my character is really fighting. For me, it’s the pressure of the town and the expectation to maintain that social status. Maybe it goes back to a moment as a kid when you said the wrong thing or were made to feel small. Those experiences stay with you, and that’s where the tension comes from.

So even in the most choreographed moments, the goal isn’t just to execute the steps. It’s to fill every movement with intention. That’s what creates the feeling of chaos while still keeping everyone safe.

PC: That’s such an interesting insight because the sound and lighting really do complement going at 65 percent. Every time I’ve seen the show, you could hear a pin drop. Everyone is just holding their breath.
Devin: Exactly. I remember the first time I watched the show because I came in as a replacement. At the end, I remember thinking, “I don’t want to clap for the violence that just happened.” But then I realized I wasn’t applauding the violence. I was applauding the artistry because it’s such a mind-blowing piece of theater. There are so many blood packs and effects that we use, and it feels incredibly visceral from our perspective.

It’s funny that you mentioned the lighting and sound because they both won Tony Awards. A fun fact about the rumble is that the Kuperman Brothers, who choreographed it, actually built the skeleton of the entire sequence. They created the timing of the punches, mapped out how every moment unfolds, and even came up with ideas for elements like the train horns and other recurring sound motifs. Then they collaborated with the rest of the creative team to build on those ideas.

What’s so remarkable is that the choreography, music, sound, and design are all working together as one. That’s what makes the rumble feel so raw, immersive, and emotionally connected for both us onstage and the audience watching.

PC: That’s the beauty of theater. It’s that collaboration as a company.
Devin: Yeah. We were talking about touring earlier, and one of the tours I did was Hamilton. Lin-Manuel Miranda would stop by every once in a while, and one of the things he said has always stuck with me. He talked about how lucky we were to have an entire team working toward the same goal because that’s actually pretty rare. Creative people don’t always arrive at the same destination together.

I think that’s what happened with The Outsiders. You have this incredible creative team. Most of them had never done a Broadway musical before. Danya had directed Broadway plays, but this was something new for so many people involved. When everyone is working toward the same vision, that’s something really special. I think that’s one of the reasons we’re still here three years later.

PC: I also think it’s a benefit that so many members of the ensemble are making their Broadway debuts with this production. It’s exciting to watch so many talented performers begin what I’m sure will be incredible careers. Something that really stood out to me from a previous interview was when you talked about the importance of approaching every room with curiosity. Theater feels uniquely suited to that mindset because every audience brings a different energy and no two performances are ever the same. Has there been a moment during your time with The Outsiders, whether in rehearsals or onstage, that reinforced that belief or led to an unexpected discovery?
Devin: Oh my gosh. This show is about so many different things, which means you can keep looking at it through a new lens.

When you mentioned all the Broadway debuts, it actually made me think about the story itself. Rob Lowe made his film debut in The Outsiders. S.E. Hinton wrote the novel when she was fifteen or sixteen. It’s a story built on firsts, and I think that’s why it speaks so powerfully to possibility. It’s about believing in yourself before anyone else does.

That’s also what makes Ponyboy so special. The Greasers are his family, but he’s still curious about the world beyond what he’s been told. He could’ve easily fallen in love with someone like Cherry Valance and crossed those invisible lines. He’s never satisfied with seeing the world through just one perspective.

The longer I’ve lived with this story, the more I’ve realized it’s really about life. It’s about possibility. It’s about community. It’s about facing hard truths and accepting that life isn’t always fair. Those are lessons that resonate whether you’re fourteen or forty.

These characters are teenagers dealing with grief long before they should have to. Unfortunately, that’s a reality for a lot of people. I’ve experienced that kind of loss in my own life, and this show has genuinely helped me heal after losing loved ones. Every night, I get to process those emotions through the story.

That’s why it continues to mean so much to me. It’s about possibility. It’s about finding your people. It’s about protecting your chosen family. It’s about reconnecting with the younger version of yourself who dreamed that something bigger was possible. I see fourteen-year-old Devin in Ponyboy. Living my life alongside this show has reminded me why I wanted to do this in the first place.

The “Stay Gold” poem is such a beautiful piece of writing. The first time I read it, I didn’t fully understand what it meant. I don’t know if you did either. But then you hear Johnny explain it, and suddenly everything clicks. It’s one of the most beautiful moments in the show.

To keep up with Devin, follow him on Instagram. Don’t miss The Outsiders on Broadway.