Miss Cynthie
The title character is an elderly black woman from a small southern town called Waxhall. The very religious and always sin-aware woman raised her grandson there with hopes he might one day become a preacher and he she has just arrived in New York City as his behest to finally find out what he’s done with his life. She knows he’s successful and not a preacher, but still holds out hope that maybe his secret is being an undertaker and not some kind of criminal.
The Red Cap
The first person Miss Cynthie meets in the big city is a nice young black baggage handler who she learns is going to school to learn to be a doctor. When he and another baggage handler find out how who her grandson is, they share a laugh over her expectation that he might be an undertaker. Their easy reference to him by name increases the expectation about whether he is famous or infamous.
Ruth
Ruth is the girlfriend of Cynthie’s grandson, David. They are introduced to each other inside David’s apartment which is furnished with lush carpeting, couches and easy-chairs, and even a grand piano. Ruth tries to press upon David the risk of the means by which he plans to expose his grandmother to how he earns the money to afford such a luxurious apartment, but he insists the only to pull it off is if she sees him in action.
Dave Tappen
David is revealed to be very proud of his success and happy to show off the trappings, but in a way in which the pride is genuinely devoted to easing his grandmother’s concerns and making her proud of him. It is also quite clear that he loves her deeply. David, is it turns out, is know all over the city as Dave Tappen, or “Tap” to his friends, one of the most celebrated entertainers in the business. His plan to showcase his talent to his grandmother is all designed to break down her natural resistance to the theater as sinful and he does this with an unprecedented solo encore featuring a song with a special private bond between the two of them.
