Character guide
Dallas Winston
from The Outsiders
Dallas Winston, known as Dally, is the hardened, streetwise Greaser of The Outsiders, the 2024 musical based on S. E. Hinton's novel.
- Show
- The Outsiders
- Broadway premiere
- 2024
- Role
- Lead
- Music by
- Clay & Chance
Dallas Winston on stage vs screen
Broadway compared with the 1983 film
Joshua Boone originated Dallas on Broadway in 2024; Matt Dillon played him in Francis Ford Coppola's 1983 film. The most striking change is Dally's death. In the film, after Johnny dies, Dallas robs a store and is shot by police, a suicide by cop. In the musical, he runs to the train tracks and lets an oncoming train hit him.
The stage Dally also leads several numbers, including Grease Got a Hold, Run Run Brother, Trouble, and Little Brother, and joins Justice for Tulsa in Act II.
Who is Dallas Winston?
Dallas Winston, called Dally, is the toughest and most hardened member of the Greasers in 1960s Tulsa, shaped by a hard life and time spent in trouble with the law before the story begins. His fierce exterior masks a real protectiveness toward the younger members of the gang, especially Johnny Cade, whom he treats almost as a younger brother.
Dally's arc is one of the show's most tragic, as his tough, self reliant persona is tested and ultimately broken by loss. He embodies the harshest consequences of the Greasers' world, a character who has learned to survive by caring about nothing, only to discover how much he actually does.
Dally's role in The Outsiders
Dallas Winston is a lead role built around raw intensity, requiring a performer who can convey menace and vulnerability within the same number, often through the show's rock inflected score. The role's late show turn is one of the production's most emotionally charged sequences.
Joshua Boone originated the role on Broadway when The Outsiders opened in 2024. Audiences remember Dally as the show's most volatile presence, a character whose hard shell makes his eventual breaking point land with particular force.
Dallas Winston: frequently asked questions
Who is Dally in The Outsiders?
Dally is the nickname of Dallas Winston, the roughest and most volatile of the Greasers, who cares more about Johnny Cade than anyone else. The Broadway musical introduces him fresh out of county lockup, and he sings Run Run Brother with Ponyboy and Johnny and leads the late number Little Brother.
What is Dallas Winston's full name?
His full name is Dallas Winston, and Dally is the nickname he goes by in both S. E. Hinton's novel and the Broadway musical.
Where is Dallas Winston from?
Dallas Winston's rough past is in New York: S. E. Hinton's novel says he spent three years on the wild side of New York and was arrested at the age of ten, before the story finds him running with the Greasers in Tulsa.
What happens to Dallas Winston at the end of The Outsiders?
Dallas Winston dies soon after Johnny Cade, overwhelmed by grief, but the two versions differ. In S. E. Hinton's novel he robs a store and points an unloaded gun at police, who shoot him; in the Broadway musical he runs from the hospital to the train tracks and lets an oncoming train hit him.
What show is Dallas Winston from?
Dallas Winston is a lead character in The Outsiders, which opened on Broadway in 2024.
Is Dallas Winston a lead or supporting role?
Dallas Winston, known as Dally, is a lead role.
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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