Mary Smith (20s) Soprano: Beautiful young heroine and new governess at Willingham. An orphan, she has spent most of her life in a New Orleans convent. She reads romance novels and yearns for adventure and love, but her views of men and romance have been shaped by the advice of nuns.  How can she act on her passionate nature with voices of nuns dancing in her head?

Ben Beaumont (30s) Tenor: He returns home after a long absence. The rightful heir to Willingham Plantation, Ben has been bamboozled out of his inheritance by his younger brother Julian. He is a quick-witted, scrappy charmer. 

Julian Beaumont (late 20s) High Baritone: Ben’s younger brother and scheming usurper of Willingham. Although he is a charming womanizer, in truth, he is an unscrupulous gloomy man consumed with envy for his brother Ben (“Unfortunate News”).

Hubert (ooh-bear) DuBois (mid 40s or older) High Baritone: British French chef who owns Chez Hubert on Bourbon Street and spins marvelous yarns about his experiences as chef on a pirate ship. Ben’s friend and confidante. He delights in sparring with Mrs. Grimshaw and bending her to his will. “Pirate Chef” production number.

Mrs. Grimshaw (40s) Mezzo Soprano: Bossy head housekeeper. Prim, proper, and domineering, she declares war on Hubert during preparations for a Valentine’s Ball, but cannot prevail over his “take charge” determination (“I Do Not Complain”).

Clarissa Bleary (20s) Soprano: Sexy Civil War widow and a Willingham neighbor. She is a tart who is desperate to re-marry and escape the tyranny of her father. She pursues Julian, but then she would pursue almost anyone who would get her away from her father and what she considers dreary country life ("Out Here”).

Kizzy Milosh (40s) Mezzo Soprano: A sassy, wise Gypsy, and Mother Earth figure, she is Hubert’s assistant at Chez Hubert. She is a clever spy and generally knows exactly what is going on. She advises Mary on the subject of romance and is a good friend of Ben’s. She reads palms as a way of telling people what they need to hear.

Sister Teresa (40s) Alto: She warns Mary about sin, lust, and depravity. She is a good heart in a dithering sort of way who believes the world outside the convent must be a wicked place, even though she has experienced little of it (“Sin, Lust, Depravity”).

Ghost (25): Pale and wild. She carries a dagger in her bodice. Who is she really?

Fonso (30) Tenor: A hapless Gypsy assassin who works for Hubert.

Dika (20s) Soprano: She works at Chez Hubert and can double as the ghost.