** Disclaimer! Before I get into this, I should just mention that these are my thoughts only. Well, not really. I've gotten ideas from others, but what I want to get across is that they are only thoughts of an individual. I am NOT trying to imply that my way is the right way for everyone. I will also admit that I can be wrong - and more often than not, I am. So - just keep that in mind.
The way I will be going about this is by character, but I will also insert group bits as well as characters who do not make an appearance in the show, but are mentioned.
Robert "Driver Junior" Conklin - 18 years old. A boy on the doorstep of life. He just graduated from high school, and he doesn't know what he is going to do, if he is going to go or stay. Robert has lived in his brother's (Driver) shadow all of his life - and now that he is grown up, he is feeling the pressure of peoples' expectations for him. He's kinda quiet, shy with people, and socially a little awkward. There is a frustration in him that makes an appearence every now and again, which leads you to believe he is a little repressed. However, he is sensible, smart, and practical. He finds comfort in his strange friendship with Eva.
"Driver" Conklin - Robert's deceased brother. He was 12 years older than Robert and the exact opposite. He was outgoing, popular, and utterly confident. He used to drive in car races, and was very good. It is those races that a lot of people remember fondly - a highlight in their lives. But he had a darker side too. He was dating Betty Atkins before his death, and it was not a good relationship. He was a little wild and he did some vandalism. He died in an accident at the races. It is unclear exactly how Robert and Driver got along. Robert never went to his races, which can say one of many different things: either he didn't like his brother or he resented all the attention he got, or he was scared of the races, but adored his brother; or any level of medium between the two. My pet thought is that there was some admiration and a bit of resentment.
Eva Jackson - 14 - Crippled girl. The script doesn't exactly say what is wrong with her - just that she is not like others, that she gets fatigued easily. I don't know where I got this idea, but there is the thought that she has one leg shorter than the other, or she has some trouble with one of her legs. I also think it is also due to over-protection from her mother. She is a little bit of an outcast because of her limitations, but also because she doesn't fit into the crowd. She's a bit of a dreamer. Eva is young, but she wants so badly to grow up. She is at that awkward stage, trying so hard to be so grown up. The best way I can describe it is "Spring Awakening"
Robert and Eva - they have a very strange relationship. No one really understands it, and I think that includes them. They take comfort in each other. Robert can be just himself with Eva, with no pressure - and Robert is the one person who doesn't baby Eva, and she is drawn to that. Also, Robert is almost the only male in Eva's life and I think Eva sees him as all the different men she is missing: father, brother, son, boyfriend. But as much as they get along, they also don't. They always seem to be on the edge of getting on each other's nerves. They teeter that line throughout the play and it changes so quickly that you hardly ever know exactly how they feel about each other at any given moment.
More to come later, and the more I think about these characters, I will probably be editing this as well.
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