West Side Story - Characters

Characters

Male Jets

  • Riff, quick-tempered but zany leader of the Jets
  • Tony, former joint-leader of the Jets, gone straight. Riff's best friend.
  • Ice/ Diesel, second-in-command of the Jets. Ice was a character created for the movie, but has been adopted in later stage productions.
  • Action, the most quick-tempered member of the Jets, always ready for a fight. Takes over as leader after Riff's death.
  • A-Rab, a happy-go-lucky Jet who is beaten up by the Sharks in the opening sequence
  • Baby John, the youngest Jet, A-Rab's best friend
  • Snowboy
  • Joyboy
  • Big Deal
  • Tiger
  • Mouthpiece
  • Gee-Tar

Male Sharks

  • Bernardo, Maria's brother, leader of the Sharks
  • Chino, Maria's hot-tempered suitor, Bernardo's best friend
  • Pepe, second-in-command of the Sharks
  • Indio
  • Loco
  • Jauno
  • Luiz
  • Rocco/Anxious
  • Toro
  • Nibbles/Del Campo
  • Chile

Female Jets

  • Graziella, Riff's girlfriend (Ice / Diesel's girlfriend in some productions)
  • Velma, Ice's girlfriend (Riff's girlfriend in some productions)
  • Minnie, Baby John's girlfriend
  • Clarice, Action's girlfriend
  • Pauline, A-Rab's girlfriend
  • Anybodys, a tagalong tomboy, eventually accepted into the gang and falls in love with Action

Female Sharks

  • Maria, Puerto Rican ingenue; Bernardo's sister
  • Anita, saucy friend of Maria and girlfriend of Bernardo, though they seem poorly matched
  • Rosalia, argues with Anita in "America"; Indio's girlfriend
  • Consuela, Pepe's girlfriend
  • Teresita, Loco's girlfriend
  • Francisca, Jauno's girlfriend
  • Estella, Luiz's girlfriend
  • Margarita, Toro's girlfriend

Adults

  • Officer Krupke, an agressive but inept cop
  • Doc, a weary old candy store owner
  • Glad Hand, the inept chaperone at the dance
  • Detective Schrank, a racist police lieutenant

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Famous quotes containing the word characters:

    “His leanings were strictly lyrical, descriptions of nature and emotions came to him with surprising facility, but on the other hand he had a lot of trouble with routine items, such as, for instance, the opening and closing of doors, or shaking hands when there were numerous characters in a room, and one person or two persons saluted many people.”
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