Delegation of 100-plus Tulsans arrive in NYC for ‘Outsiders’

Tulsans are awesome, Page Six has learned!

Some of us had never met anyone from T-Town until Wednesday night, but it turns out these guys are a delight.

“The Outsiders” — a musical based on the famous novel set in Oklahoma City — opens on Broadway April 11. And about 100 Tulsans are so proud that they traveled in groups for the occasion as if the 1967 book were a high school football team that reached the national championships.

The gang was mostly staying at the Times Square Hilton where they threw a party Wednesday night, during which they served bite-sized hot dogs and talked about Tulsa.

“There’s a lot of pride that this story is not just special in Tulsa and that it seems to resonate with people all across America,” Tulsa Mayor GT Bynum told Page Six. “And so to have it on Broadway is very exciting.”

Bynum, who brought his lovely teenage daughter with him for the trip, added: “I know I should probably tell you that we hope this will boost tourism or something, but honestly, we’re really proud of it.” .”

When Page Six asked whether our own Mayor Eric Adams would find many private after-hours clubs if he found himself in Tulsa, Bynum — who is finishing his second and final term — seemed somewhat perplexed by the concept.

But he kindly pointed out that there are a growing number of entertainment options in the city.

“The development of our restaurant scene has been a focal point, and then our concert arena, the BOK Center, has been the national arena for the second year of the last five years,” he said, adding the new Attractions include the Bob Dylan Center, the Woody Guthrie Center and, of course, the “Outsiders” House Museum.

Meanwhile, Tulsa Regional Chamber of Commerce President Mike Neal, who just attracted two international companies to the Tulsa area, an Italian solar cell manufacturer and an Italian paper manufacturer, was very impressed with one of the show’s producers, Angelina Jolie. .

“She and her daughter (Vivienne) came to Tulsa with (the cast and crew) and had a long weekend,” Neal said. “We showed them everything that was in the movie (1983’s Outsiders); the high school where Suzy Hinton (author of “Outsiders”) went to.

“They now have a drama program at this school,” Neal added. “Angelina told me, ‘If we lived in Tulsa, my daughter would go to this school (because of the drama program).’ She loved it.

“The actors fell in love with Tulsa and we fell in love with them,” Neal said. “Very impressive young people. Very impressive. They have this heart, this spirit, this fire in their belly. They were just great. We are so proud. We are very proud to come here with this delegation from Tulsa to support them as they open on Broadway.

Bill Knight, owner of Oklahoma’s largest Ford dealership for 15 years and president-elect of the Tulsa Area Chamber of Commerce, told us why he made the trip.

“Anything we can do to promote Tulsa and promote what’s going on there, we’d like to do: this show, the Bob Dylan Center, the Woody Guthrie Museum,” he said. “I think there’s just a lot of really cool cultural activities. things that people don’t really think about when they think of Tulsa.

“Outsiders” is at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theater.