Maestro

It's a tough enough road for a theater director. It's tougher still when the road is his theater! Maestro is the kind of enthusiastic, P.T. Barnum-style ringleader that you might expect a travelling storyteller to be around 1860. But he shows a darker side to his inner circle -- obviously his heart has been broken before. Even a simple tradition like "And they all lived happily ever after" can really tick him off.

To make things worse, his troupe is threatening to quit. They've been on the road for too long, and their funds have run dry. Their last stop is a coastal village in the Mediterranean, where no one has much money except for foreign visitors who dock by chance in the nearby port. Maestro presents a last-ditch performance of The Flying Trunk for the local villagers, knowing it might be his troupe's last.

Portrayal of: Male adult (20s), lead role
Featured songs: Sings lead in Gather 'Round and Trust in Me.

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Rip

Rip joined Maestro's troupe recently during their travels, and is still learning the ropes. This youngster's Spanish accent reminds us that Rip's backstory is different from the rest of the troupe (making Rip a proxy for the audience, asking plenty of questions along the way). Maestro, knowing that Rip's theater career may be soon cut short, invites his protégé to join him as a co-emcee of The Flying Trunk. Rip plays off Maestro with a lighter, more optimistic view of the world.

Portrayal of: Male or female child or young teen, lead role
Featured songs: Solo in Gather 'Round and some ensemble.

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Hatch Shonin

Hatch Shonin is the main character of The Flying Trunk, the rich merchant's prodigal son who finds himself stripped and penniless soon after his father has passed away. Although he was born in the American frontier, his parents made sure he was well educated in languages, preparing him to get along even in foreign lands.

Although Hatch was never very close to his busy father -- whose "Midas touch" he did not inherit -- he still carries the weight of letting his family legacy down. He frequently dialogues with the memory of his departed mother Sherry instead, even after her flying trunk whisks him away to the tiny country of Havara. There he finds the love of his life (Meliha), and a career as a member of Tumbler and Harley's troupe.

Portrayal of: Male young adult (teen to 20s), lead role
Featured songs: Lead in Star Shooting and 'Cause We're Young, solo verses in Sayonara Shiny Shonin and Alley Bob, and some ensemble.

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Princess Meliha (Mel)

The people in the tiny country of Havara whisper that Princess Meliha is kept locked away in her castle tower, like a fairy tale character, for fear of a curse. In reality, the royal family keeps a low profile, hidden from the public to protect the image of the ill Sultan. Mel takes on the burden of covering most of her father's official duties in his place, in secret. If she doesn't, her scheming, power-mad Aunt Hadia will take over the country instead.

Mel is torn between her duty to her family and country, and her desire to get out of her stone fortress and experience the joys of being a young woman. She recognizes that the new, foreign kitchen boy (Hatch) may be her key to escape.

Portrayal of: Female young adult (teen to 20s)
Featured songs: Lead (third verse) in Treasure Me, lead in 'Cause We're Young, and some ensemble.

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Lady Hadia

Lady Hadia is the younger sister of the Sultan, and the villain of our story. Disgusted by the shrinking fortunes of the royal family, she manipulates Havara's soldiers to loot the neighboring city of Zakata, creating the threat of a revolt and civil war.

Like most villains, she sees herself as doing more good than bad. She has given up romantic love to qualify for the rare title of Sultana when her brother is someday deposed. This doesn't keep her from showing attraction for her mute servant, Kareem.

Portrayal of: Female, middle-aged (45ish)
Featured songs: Lead (second verse) in Treasure Me and lead in We'll Always Have Idiots.

Kareem

He may not speak, but Kareem is in every scene with Lady Hadia and plays a key role in his country's future. He keeps his secrets and his cool as Hadia's servant, bodyguard, dance partner, and crush.

Portrayal of: Male adult (35ish)
Featured songs: Same performer has solos as a miner in Sayonara Shiny Shonin. May join ensemble for Gather 'Round and finale. Featured dancer in We'll Always Have Idiots.

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Ferah

Ferah, an old acquaintance of Tumbler, has risen to become the head of staff in the Kasbah of Havara, and the most trusted servant of the royal family. As such she is always in reach of their secrets, knowledgeable of both the hidden world inside the castle fortress and the rising threat of revolution outside of its walls.

It is by sneaking into the castle and contacting Ferah that Tumbler, Harley and the rest of the troupe believe Hatch can line up a job for them as performers for the court. Little do they know how dangerous Ferah's position really is.

Portrayal of: Female adult (30ish)
Featured songs: Lead (first verse) in Treasure Me. May join ensemble for Gather 'Round.

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Tumbler

Tumbler, an acrobat, is one of the leaders of Maestro's troupe. She's also a performer (and highway robber) in Havara, who maneuvers Hatch into becoming a castle intruder to make contact with her old acquaintance, the servant Ferah. War is brewing in the land, but she hopes it may be prevented if the royals give jobs to commoners like her troupe.

Portrayal of: Female adult (30ish)
Featured songs: Solos in Gather 'Round, Always Leave 'Em Wanting More and Alley Bob, and some ensemble.

Harley

Harley is another trouper who interacts with Maestro, but also "plays himself" in The Flying Trunk. He's a brash clown, always a standout. He leaves his face paint on even while portraying the villain Sheriff Shaw Ray in the troupe's play-within-the-play, "The Ballad of Sierra Zod."

Portrayal of: Male young adult (teen to 20s)
Featured songs: Lead in Jump Into the Fire, solos in Gather 'Round and Always Leave 'Em Wanting More, and some ensemble.

Troubadour

Troubadour is another standout performer in Maestro's troupe, a guitar player who helps narrate the romance of Hatch and Mel.

Portrayal of: Female young adult (teen to 20s)
Featured songs: Lead in Sands, solos in Always Leave 'Em Wanting More and Alley Bob, and some ensemble.

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Sherry Shonin

The story of Shiny and Sherry Shonin belongs in a whole musical of its own. He was an immigrant and business genius with the "Midas touch," while she was a famous, but spendthrift, saloon singer in the American West.

Alas, both of the Shonins have passed away before our tale even begins. But the larger-than-life character of Sherry survives in the memories of her son Hatch to haunt and counsel him (and to sing a couple of great songs). She gives the flying trunk its soul, to guide the destinies of all the other characters. So, she's as close as we come to a title role in this show!

Portrayal of: Female adult (40ish)
Featured songs: Lead in Hit the Ground Running and If You Let It.

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Lady Ayla

In Lady Ayla's culture (imitating Ottoman tradition), the Sultan's wife is not automatically a queen or "sultana" and she is not expected to take charge. And Ayla would rather care for her ailing husband than claim any power. Regardless, to protect her family's integrity, the demure Ayla learns to step out of the Sultan's shadow to make important decisions in his place.

Portrayal of: Female adult (40ish)
Featured songs: Lead in 'Cause We're Young (Reprise) and some ensemble.

Sultan Serhan

The Sultan is a kindly old soul, but he is forgetful and gradually disabled by dementia. The various women in his life -- his wife, his sister, his daughter, and even his house servant -- take over in steering the fate of his country. His castle (the Kasbah) has been closed to the public to hide his health crisis. He loves tales of the American Wild West, which is why Hatch chooses to perform "The Ballad of Sierra Zod" with the troupe to impress him. As he grows increasingly childlike, he would rather "play cowboy" than name an official successor.

Portrayal of: Male elder

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Becky Carson

Becky -- a rough-edged, strong frontier woman -- knew and traveled with Sherry Shonin before and after Sherry became famous. Becky now owns a saloon and hotel in the little mining town of Winnemuck, California. She takes responsibility for Hatch after he loses his parents, and is the one who makes sure he inherits his mother's "flying trunk" before his creditors catch up with him.

Portrayal of: Female adult (50s)
Featured songs: Lead in Sayonara Shiny Shonin.

Sultana

The same actress who plays Becky may play the Sultana, a royal visitor who attends Maestro's show.

Portrayal of: Female adult (20s)
Featured songs: Lead in Trust in Me.

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Sierra Zod

Sierra is the lead character in the play-within-the-play performed for the Sultan by Hatch and the troupe. She's a take on the heroine Scheherazade from Arabian Nights (a.k.a. One Thousand and One Nights), which is one of Hatch's favorite books. Like Scheherazade, Sierra uses storytelling to stall the executions of herself, her sister, and the women of her community.

Hatch also based the character of this popular, defiant saloon singer on his own famous mother, who must have had a few run-ins with lawmen herself.

Portrayal of: Female adult (20s-30s)
Featured songs: Lead in New Horizon, solos in Always Leave 'Em Wanting More and Alley Bob, and some ensemble.

Danella Zod

Danella is Sierra's younger sister, learning the ropes as a dancer in Sierra's saloon show. She's an extra motivation for Sierra to stand up to the crooked Sheriff Shaw Ray.

Portrayal of: Female child or teen
Featured songs: Ensemble in Always Leave 'Em Wanting More and Alley Bob.

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