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# Angelina Jolie and Octavia Spencer host kickoff event for ‘The Outsiders’ Stay Gold Program expansion
- URL: https://www.broadwaynews.com/angelina-jolie-and-octavia-spencer-host-kickoff-event-for-the-outsiders-stay-gold-program-expansion/
- Published: 2026-10-07T02:46:45.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-07T02:46:45.000Z
- Description: The program grants students free access to the Tony Award-winning Best Musical.
- Author: Lee D'Amato
- Tags: Partnership, The Outsiders, News, Stay Gold Project, Angelina Jolie, Octavia Spencer, Matthew Rego

The producers of Broadway’s “The Outsiders” have announced a new partnership between the Stay Gold Project and the nonprofit organization City Year. The partnership will broaden access to the Broadway and touring productions of “The Outsiders” by expanding the Stay Gold Project nationwide through the fall of 2027\. 

“The Outsiders” originally launched the Stay Gold Project as a theater access program for New York City public school students and educators, underwriting the cost of tickets to the Broadway production so that these students and educators could see the show free of charge. The Stay Gold Project also provided educational resources to these schools — building on the Youth Ambassador Council that provided feedback to the musical’s creative team early in the process. The Sonic Foundation and private donors funded the Stay Gold Project’s national expansion during the first year of “The Outsiders” North American tour, providing approximately 4,000 subsidized tickets to students and educators around the country. 

Moving forward, the Crimson Lion/Lavine Family Foundation will serve as the program’s principal sponsor, providing a matching challenge grant to support the Stay Gold Project’s fundraising efforts. This, along with City Year serving as the National Education and Youth Partner and Situation Project serving as the fiscal sponsor (so all gifts are tax deductible), will allow donations to be used to support students in New York and in any city where “The Outsiders” is playing across the country, including the 29 cities where City Year operates in 247 schools, serving 188,000 students.

Through private donations and the Crimson Lion/Lavine Family Foundation contributions, the entire price of tickets will be underwritten by the Stay Gold Project, so that there is never a cost to students and educators to attend “The Outsiders.” City Year will also provide study guides and organize post-show discussions with company members. According to a representative for the show, the vision for this initiative is to continue to grow, reaching thousands more students both in New York and across the country over the next several years of the tour and on Broadway.

The new partnership was unveiled by “The Outsiders” producer Angelina Jolie and City Year Los Angeles board member Octavia Spencer at an Oct. 4 event celebrating the musical’s Los Angeles opening. 

“Every young person deserves the chance to experience live theater and to see something of themselves in the stories we tell,” said Matthew Rego of the Araca Group, lead producer of “The Outsiders” on Broadway and on tour, in a statement. “The Stay Gold Project grew out of our belief that cost should never stand between a student and that experience. We’re proud to partner with City Year to bring more young people into the world of ‘The Outsiders’ and give them an opportunity to connect with a story that has meant so much to generations of readers.”

“City Year student success coaches work alongside teachers to provide academic support, mentoring, and enrichment that helps students build confidence, develop life skills and stay connected to their goals,” said City Year CEO Jim Balfanz. “That’s something the Stay Gold Project believes in, too, and we could not be more excited to be working together.”

“The Outsiders” is produced on Broadway by the Araca Group, American Zoetrope, Olympus Theatricals, Sue Gilad, Larry Rogowsky and Jolie.