This stage adaptation of S.E. Hinton’s modern classic deals with real people, seen through the eyes of young Ponyboy, a Greaser on the wrong side of life, caught up in territorial battles between the have-it-made rich kids, the Socs, and his tough, underprivileged "greaser" family and friends. While the Socs appear to have everything, the only thing a Greaser has is his friends. As these young people try to find themselves and each other,  Ponyboy's dying friend, Johnny, sends him a last message … “Stay gold, Ponyboy, stay gold."