u/Main-Perception-3128

Had the pleasure of watching the show in Knoxville and still can’t stop thinking about it. Saw the Sunday matinee and when I say the cast put on a flawless performance. There were a couple of mic issues at the very beginning but that’s technical and they fixed it super fast. I had Brandon as Two-Bit, Christian as Johnny, JD as Ponyboy, and Jaydon as Dally. Christian delivered a light-hearted Johnny Cade. It felt like even with the cards he had been dealt, he found a way to smile through it all. It was a refreshing take on his character. JD’s acting of a 14 year old kid is so good! Just little nuances that he would deliver where I’m like, yep, that’s exactly how a 14 year old would do it. And their voices together…WOW! I think Jaydon’s Dally needs to be talked about more. There was something so vulnerable in the way he was able to portray Dally while being the toughest greaser of them all. I felt like he hinted at Dally having an internal battle with himself the entire show and as if maybe the reason why he was so protective of Johnnycakes is that he may have saw himself in him. Mental health awareness was not a thing back then but watching his performance, you can see it was definitely there. And his voice lingers. It may haunt me for the rest of my life. If you get a chance to catch him as Dally. Do it! I’d be happy to see how he takes on Johnny Cade as well. Oh, also did get to watch him as Two-Bit. Love how he is a protector as Two-Bit as well but in a completely different way.