Dimmesdale falls to his knees. But, rather than confess, he simply asks to the Lord to take his life. Roger lets the withered and quivering Dimmesdale fall to the floor without delivering the death blow. Instead, he places Dimmesdale’s cloak over the minister’s body, removes the cross Dimmesdale gave him and lets the symbol fall to the floor triumphantly, and contemptuously. The townspeople eagerly make their way to the Town Square to watch the processional of the town elders and Governor Bellingham to the church. Hester and Pearl are met by the Ship Captain who informs them that Dr. Chillingworth will be joining them on their journey away from Boston. Hester tries to tell Dimmesdale not to meet her on the ship as he passes in the processional but is stopped by Reverend Wilson. Pearl runs off, and Hester and Roger are left standing outside the church as Dimmesdale’s oration begins. Dimmesdale delivers a powerful election day sermon in which he tries to tell the townspeople that he is a sinner. The townspeople believe he is making a symbol of himself and instead of looking down on him, become frenzied in their adoration of him. Unable to bear the adulation of the congregation any longer, Dimmesdale breaks away from the pulpit and runs out into the square, eventually ascending the scaffold. The crowd follows him and, in the chaos that ensues, Hester and Roger both ascend the scaffold as Dimmesdale confesses he is the father of Hester’s child to the stunned crowd below. He collapses into Hester’s arms, finally relieved of his secret, but at the cost of his life. Roger falls upon the steps, defeated by Dimmesdale’s self-confession and escape through death. Drawn to the ethereal song of his little Pearl, Dimmesdale slips away amidst a delicate rain of rose petals. As the townspeople recede into the distance, Hester realizes that her own journey is ending and her daughter’s is about to begin. Like the wild rose bush alongside the jail, Hester’s place is in the colony. But like the little red bird, Pearl will someday fly away. Hester and Pearl embrace on the scaffold before Pearl descends the steps. The mother releases her grief and places her hopes and dreams onto her precious daughter. Hester is alone now on the scaffold, and she is at peace MUSICAL NUMBERS City Upon a Hill Prologue Judgment Day The Interview City Upon a Hill Montage The Physician The Leech and His Patient Small Reminders Pearl’s Song Come With Me Be True The Black Flower The Leech and His Patient Reprise New England Holiday Journey Election Day Sermon I Epilogue. CAST • HESTER PRYNNE (Lyric) • Mid-20s - intensely passionate behind a marble façade, she is strong-willed, hardworking and deeply devoted to those she loves. She is a seamstress in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, in Boston. As punishment for adultery, she must wear a scarlet letter "A" on her garments for life. She is the mother of Pearl and also, secretly, both the wife of Roger and the lover of Dimmesdale. • REV. ARTHUR DIMMESDALE (Tenor - to B) • Late 20s/Early 30s - young, pious, and passionate for ministry, he is consumed both by guilt for his passion and by love for his illegitimate child. He is the highly-respected minister of the colony and a brilliant orator. • ROGER CHILLINGWORTH (Baritone - belt to F#) • Mid-Late 50s - older and mysterious, dark and "misshapen," he is a brilliant alchemist-turned-physician with a passion for scientific truth. Arriving in the colony on the morning of Hester's sentencing, he brokers a terrible pact with her to keep their marriage secret. Roger dedicates his life in the colony to
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