Character Breakdown
Pearl Prynne – 12 years old, spirited, disobedient, intelligent and infinitely curious. The illegitimate daughter of Hester Prynne and the Rev. Dimmesdale, she is an outcast from Puritan society, and desperately wants to know her father’s identity and her mother’s past. Mezzo.
Hester Prynne – Pearl’s mother, Dimmesdale’s lover, and Chillingworth’s estranged wife. Prior to the birth of Pearl and her subsequent shaming, she was bold and spirited, but after years of ostracism, she has repressed all of that. She is an excellent cook and seamstress. Rock-alto.
Rev. Arthur Dimmesdale – The young pastor of the Church of Boston, he enjoys a position of respect and prominence in the community. He is secretly paralyzed by the guilt he feels for his sexual sin. He loves Pearl and Hester, but is afraid of what would happen to him any one knew. Tenor.
Roger Chillingworth – Handsome, jealous, sinister, and very clever. He is a scholar with expertise in magical artifacts, and is on an obsessive quest to find a magical seeing-glass; this quest brought him to Boston. He sent Hester away, but is still unhappy she had a child with another man. Baritone.
Mistress Hibbins/Hunch – A relative of the Governor, and a known witch. She has the witch-glass Chillingworth seeks in her possession, but requires the blood of a willing virgin to use it. She is the leader of a small coven that meets in the forest, where she is known as Hunch. Mezzo.
Goody Shelley/Squiddle – The youngest of the three witches. Lewd, cruel, and not very bright. Soprano.
Goody Netter/Nobs – The oldest of the three witches, a motherly sort. Alto.
Bellingham – The magistrate of Boston. Old, lecherous, and possessed of a greatly inflated ego. Baritone.
Susannah Wilson – The governor’s daughter, about Pearl’s age. Pretty, spoiled, conceited, and altogether deserving of the beating Pearl inflicts on her.
Townspeople – Assorted Puritans, all pious and quick to judge those revealed as sinners, despite their own sins and failings.
