Jason Schmidt knows how to lure you in. From the moment his The Outsiders character “Sodapop” appears on the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre stage, you’re following his every move. Small gasps from the crowd bounce you in and out of the moment, with young girls giggling as he makes a joke or glides across the Broadway stage.
His overly charming, boisterous, and lover-boy stage persona might have skyrocketed his stardom, but off the stage, Schmidt is keeping his feet on the ground. After spending days researching the show on TikTok, I almost don’t recognize him when we meet around the corner from his day job in the thick of Times Square as he slips through the front doors of the hotel lobby, his head tucked low under a baseball cap.
“I think I'm what they call a performative introvert,” he tells Teen Vogue. “I love people, I'm invested in people, but that recharge time alone is so important to me.” It’s also quite necessary when you’re putting on an incredibly heart-breaking two-and-a-half-hour show eight times a week...READ MORE