The musical theater adaptation of The Outsiders premiered on Broadway on Thursday, April 11, and lead producer Angelina Jolie says she has her 15-year-old daughter Vivienne to thank for helping her pull it off.
Jolie, 48, told People that her volunteer assistant has kept her in line while producing the show.
“She’ll correct me,” Angelina said of her Vivienne, whom she shares with ex Brad Pitt. “She’ll say, ‘Didn’t you read the memo? We have to do this. We have to go through this.’”
Angelina didn’t just decide to bring Vivienne along for the ride. She and the show’s score creator and book co-creator Justin Levine agreed that Vivienne is the crew’s biggest theater head, with Angelina adding that her daughter takes her job “very, very seriously.” Angelina also said previously that Vivienne is the one who inspired her to take on the project.
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That tracks with a statement Angelina released last year when she first confirmed that her daughter would help her on the production.
“Viv reminds me of my mother [late actress Marcheline Bertrand] in that she isn’t focused on being the center of attention but in being a support to other creatives,” she said in a statement last year. “She’s very thoughtful and serious about theater and working hard to best understand how to contribute.”
She also told People that her daughter “is a young artist who focuses her efforts on her support of others,” and she “has learned so much from Justin Levine and the whole creative team.”
The Outsiders is a stage adaptation of S.E. Hinton’s 1967 novel and the 1983 Francis Ford Coppola-directed film by the same name. The musical premiered in San Diego in February and began previews on Broadway March 16. Brody Grant and Jason Schmidt star as Ponyboy Curtis and Sodapop “Soda” Curtis, respectively.
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“I’m excited for audiences to see it,” Angelina added. “I’ve been in the theater watching as the first reactions came in, including the often very emotional reaction from young people. It’s very moving.”
This isn’t the first time Angelina has collaborated with her children. She worked with sons Maddox, 22, and Pax, 19 on the upcoming film Without Blood. Angelina directed the war drama, while her sons worked in the assistant director department. (Jolie and Pitt share six kids total: Maddox, Pax, Zahara, 19, Shiloh, 17, Vivienne, and her twin brother Knox.)
“We work well together. When a film crew is at its best, it feels like a big family, so it felt natural,” Angelina told People last year.
The Outsiders is now playing at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre in New York City. Tickets are available at outsidersmusical.com.
