Character guide
Cherry Valance
from The Outsiders
Cherry Valance is the Soc who befriends Ponyboy in The Outsiders, the 2024 musical based on S. E. Hinton's novel.
- Show
- The Outsiders
- Broadway premiere
- 2024
- Role
- Supporting
- Music by
- Clay & Chance
Cherry Valance on stage vs screen
Broadway compared with the 1983 film
Emma Pittman originated Cherry on Broadway in 2024; Diane Lane played her in Francis Ford Coppola's 1983 film, where she is credited as Sherrie 'Cherry' Valance. Her story role is the same: the Soc girl Ponyboy meets at the drive-in, whose boyfriend Bob is killed. The musical deepens her connection to Ponyboy with two duets, I Could Talk to You All Night and Hopeless War, and she leads Friday at the Drive-In.
On stage she also appears in Justice for Tulsa, the Act II number sung with Officer Barneyman, Dallas, and Paul.
Who is Cherry Valance?
Cherry Valance is a member of the wealthier Socs in 1960s Tulsa who forms an unexpected connection with Ponyboy Curtis after a chance meeting at a drive in movie. Unlike many of her peers, Cherry is willing to see past the class divide separating the Socs from the Greasers, recognizing genuine similarities between herself and Ponyboy despite their different circumstances.
Her relationship with the volatile Bob, her Soc boyfriend, complicates her position, and the fallout from a violent encounter between the two groups puts her loyalty and honesty to the test. Cherry becomes one of the story's few characters able to move between both worlds, even as that position grows increasingly difficult to hold.
Cherry's role in The Outsiders
Cherry Valance is a supporting role that serves as a bridge between the show's two rival groups, requiring a performer able to convey both social confidence and real emotional honesty. Her scenes with Ponyboy are some of the show's quieter, more reflective moments.
Emma Pittman originated the role on Broadway when The Outsiders opened in 2024. Audiences remember Cherry as proof that the wall between Greasers and Socs is more about circumstance than character, a perspective that deepens the show's themes of class and understanding.
Cherry Valance: frequently asked questions
What is Cherry Valance's full name in The Outsiders?
Cherry Valance's full name is Sherri Valance. In S. E. Hinton's novel she explains that she is called Cherry because of her red hair, and she is a cheerleader among the wealthier Socs in both the novel and the Broadway musical.
Who is Cherry Valance in The Outsiders?
Cherry Valance is a Soc cheerleader who befriends Ponyboy Curtis despite the class divide between their two groups. In the Broadway musical, she and Ponyboy sing the duet I Could Talk to You All Night after meeting at the drive-in, and later she begs him to stay out of the rumble in Hopeless War.
What happens to Cherry Valance after Bob dies in The Outsiders?
Cherry works to clear Ponyboy and Johnny, though the two versions differ. In S. E. Hinton's novel she offers to testify that the drunk Socs started the fight but refuses to visit Johnny, who killed Bob; in the Broadway musical her police statement clears them, and she later brings Ponyboy Johnny's clothes, which hold his farewell note.
What show is Cherry Valance from?
Cherry Valance is a supporting character in The Outsiders, which opened on Broadway in 2024.
Is Cherry Valance a lead or supporting role?
Cherry Valance is a supporting role as a Soc who befriends Ponyboy.
Who wrote the music for The Outsiders?
Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance of Jamestown Revival wrote the score with Justin Levine.
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