Midcoast Youth Theater

The Greasers

The Greasers are known for their working-class background, rebellious image, and aggressive lifestyle, including long, greased-back hair, leather jackets, jeans, smoking, and street fighting. They live on the East side of town and are rivals with the Socs.

 

Ponyboy Curtis - is a younger teen, the younger brother of Darry and Sodapop. He is book smart and likes to read and watch movies. He is not interested in fighting for fun, only in self-defense, and questions the purpose of the gang rivalry. He is fiercely loyal to his family and friends, especially his best friend Johnny Cade, and will do anything to protect them. Ponyboy is the protagonist and narrator of the play. His role is a heavy dialogue role, including several long narrative sections and monologues.

 

Johnny Cade - is in his mid-teens. He is Ponyboy’s best friend. He comes from an abusive home which makes him a nervous wreck and rather quiet. He finds his “family” within the members of the gang, preferring to sleep in a vacant lot with the gang, despite his fear of being jumped by the Socs, because it feels safer than being at home. In the play, he will murder a Soc and will die in the end from his injuries from being in a burning building. He is a lead role but has a relatively small number of lines and is more of a contemplative observer. What he doesn't say is considered just as important to his portrayal as what he does say.

 

Dallas “Dally” Winston - is an older teen. He is the toughest, coldest, and meanest member of the Greasers. He grew up in the harsh streets of New York City and has been in and out of jail since he was ten. Despite his rough exterior, he possesses a fiercely loyal side, particularly toward Johnny, the only person he genuinely loves and protects. Like Johnny, Dally’s parents were abusive and neglectful towards him. This lack of a stable family life makes the Greasers his only family, and he channels his anger and frustration into a rebellious, law-breaking lifestyle. As a supporting character, Dally has a smaller number of lines but his dialogue is significant and impactful.

 

Sodapop “Soda” Curtis - is in his mid-teens and is the middle Curtis brother. He is known for his "movie-star kind of handsome" looks, cheerful demeanor, and role as the family mediator. He is Ponyboy's favorite brother and works to hold his fractured family together after their parents' death. He is not interested in school and dropped out to work full-time at the local gas station with his best friend Steve Randle, but he is highly emotionally intelligent. Sodapop is a supporting role with dialogue that is crucial to the plot and emotional core of the story, portraying the heart of the Curtis family.

 

Darrel “Darry” Curtis Jr. - is an older teen and the oldest of the Curtis brothers. He functions as the parental figure for his younger brothers after their parents' deaths in a car accident. Darry had been a popular high school athlete and a top student with a college scholarship, but he gave up his dreams to keep his family together and out of a boys' home. This immense responsibility forces him to grow up too fast. Darry's strictness and "tough love" stem from a deep fear of losing his brothers and a desire for Ponyboy to reach the potential that he himself was unable to achieve. Darry is a supporting role and his lines are crucial and often heavy with emotion and responsibility juxtaposed to his strong physical physique. 

 

Keith "Two-Bit" Matthews - is the oldest member of the gang, besides Darry, and is a perennial junior in high school. He is the gang's wisecracker and a source of comic relief (always having to get his "two bits" worth in). He is known for his love of jokes, fighting, and his black-handled switchblade. Despite his laid-back and lazy persona, he is also surprisingly perceptive. His role is considered ensemble in nature due to his limited amount of dialogue, with lines that are often short, witty, and used for comedic timing. He is involved in the greaser gang activities and the climactic rumble.
 

Steve Randle - is in his mid-teens and is Sodapop's best friend. He is a cocky, car-obsessed greaser. He has a strained relationship with Ponyboy, whom he views as a "tag-along kid" and an annoyance. This tension sometimes leads to arguments among the brothers and friends. His role is considered ensemble in nature due to his limited amount of dialogue with short lines, tough remarks, general gang conversation, or specific interactions with Sodapop. He is also involved in the greaser gang activities and the climactic rumble.

 

Sandy - is in her mid-teens and is Sodapop’s girlfriend. She is pretty, has a soft laugh, is kind, and is more simple than most of the other Greaser girls who are typically loud, tough, wear lots of eye make-up, and swear a lot. Ponyboy approves of her. Her role is considered ensemble in nature due to her limited amount of dialogue and time on stage. There is potential for her role to be doubled with another character. 

 

The Socs 

The Socs are the socials: the wealthy, privileged kids from the West side of town.  They live expensive lifestyles as seen by their clothes and cars. They are rivals to the Greasers.

 

Bob Sheldon - is an older teen and is Cherry’s boyfriend. He is the main antagonist of the story. He is a wealthy, cocky Soc who represents the privilege and entitlement that fuel the class warfare between the Socs and the Greasers. His most pivotal scene, where he and a group of drunk Socs attack Ponyboy and Johnny, will lead ultimately to him being stabbed and killed by Johnny while he’s attempting to drown Ponyboy at the end of Act 1. His role is considered ensemble in nature due to his limited amount of dialogue and time on stage. There is potential for his role to be doubled with another character. 
 

Randy Adderson - is an older teen and Bob’s best friend. Randy starts as a typical Soc - arrogant and involved in jumping Greasers, including the attack on Johnny that leaves him traumatized. However, after the death of his best friend, Bob, Randy undergoes a significant change. He then sees the pointlessness of the ongoing feud and he refuses to participate in the climatic rumble in Act 2. As a supporting character, his transformation is a key element in developing the story's themes, helping Ponyboy realize that class divisions are superficial and people are more complex than their group labels suggest. 

 

Cherry Valance - is in her mid-teens and is Bob’s girlfriend at the start of the play. She is pretty and has red hair (hence the nickname ‘Cherry’). Unlike other Socs, she is not stuck up or condescending to the Greasers. She is highly empathetic, has a strong moral code, and is a thoughtful and kind person who uses her influence to promote understanding rather than conflict. Her role serves as a vital bridge between the wealthy Socs and the working-class Greasers by breaking down stereotypes and understanding people's internal struggles rather than just their external appearances. Cherry is a lead role with a significant amount of dialogue. Her lines are insightful and help drive the thematic development of the story. She adds a vital element of femininity to the male-dominated story.

 

Marcia - is in her mid-teens. She is Cherry’s best friend and Randy’s girlfriend. She is pretty and has dark hair. She is easy-going and laid back, not seeming to care much about the rivalry and social divides. She shares the same "scatterbrained sense of humor" as Two-Bit Matthews, which allows them to connect and flirt at the drive-in. Her role is considered ensemble as she does not contribute much to the main storyline through dialogue or stage time, but her role serves to add depth to the social dynamics. There is potential for her role to be doubled with another character. 
 

Paul - is an older teen and a former friend and football teammate of Darry’s. Paul appears in the climatic rumble in Act 2. When the two gangs face off, Darry steps forward to issue an open challenge, and it is Paul who steps up to fight him. Paul represents the privileged path Darry could have had - Paul is in college and has a future, while Darry is stuck working two jobs to support his brothers. Their brief exchange before the fighting begins underscores a lost friendship and the bitterness of their current realities. Despite appearing late in the story and with very limited dialogue, his impact is in his presence and what he represents. There is potential for his role to be doubled with another character. 

 

Adult Characters (played by teens)

 

Mrs. O’Briant - is a middle aged parent whose children are saved by Johnny and Ponyboy in the church fire scene. She expresses gratitude and is present in the hospital scene. There is potential for her role to be doubled with another character. 

 

Jerry Wood - (can also be a woman named Jeri) is a middle-aged man who is a school teacher. He is at the burning church and accompanies Ponyboy to the hospital after the children are rescued. He is kind and supportive, judging the Greasers by their heroic actions rather than stereotypes. He has several lines in the hospital scene. There is potential for this role to be doubled with another character. 

 

Mr. Syme - (can also be “Mrs.”) is Ponyboy's English teacher. He only appears briefly near the end of the play, expressing concern about Ponyboy's grades and well-being, and giving him the opportunity to write his life story for a composition assignment. There is potential for this role to be doubled with another character. 

 

Extras include a doctor, a nurse, a police officer, Socs in the rumble, and school children in the church fire. Aside from the children, these roles will be doubled with other characters. 

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