DR. ALEXANDRE MANETTE – French doctor unjustly imprisoned in the Bastille for 17 years. Father of Lucie (Bari/tenor, sings to a G)
LUCIE MANETTE – Manette's young daughter. Thought orphaned as a child. Loved by Darnay and Carton (Soprano, sings to Bb)
MR. JARVIS LORRY – English banker who adopts the Manettes as a surrogate family (non-singing)
MISS PROSS – Lucie Manette's no-nonsense English nanny and friend (singing optional)
JACQUES #1 AND 2/ ENSEMBLE – Two French peasants working toward revolution
GASPARD/ENSEMBLE – French peasant whose child is run down by the Marquis St. Evremonde (Baritone)
LITTLE GASPARD/ENSEMBLE – Gaspard's little boy, killed by the carriage of Marquis
MADAME THERESE DEFARGE – Patient wide of Defarge who supports his dream of revolution in France (Strong belt; must belt/mix to E)
ERNEST DEFARGE – Manette's old servant. Wine merchant and budding revolutionary (Bari-tenor, sings to G/optional A)
MARQUIS ST. EVREMONDE/ENSEMBLE – Predatory, immoral French aristocrat. Uncle to Darnay (Baritone, sings to F#)
GABELLE/ENSEMBLE – Servant to the Marquis. Friend to Darney (Baritone)
CHARLES DARNAY, aka EVREMONDE – Good-hearted, upstanding young French aristocrat. Marries Lucie (Bari-tenor, sings to Ab)
JOHN BARSAD – Turncoat English con-man and spy. In the pay of the Marquis (Baritone)
JERRY CRUNCHER – English off-job man for Mr. Lorry. Moonlights as a graverobber (Baritone)
SYDNEY CARTON – Drunken, careless English lawyer in love with Lucie Manette (Baritone, low G to G, 2 octaves)
STRYVER/ENSEMBLE – Blustering senior barrister; Carton's employer (Baritone)
ATTORNEY GENERAL/ENSEMBLE – Smug showman prosecuter in cahoots with Barsad against Darnay (Bass/Baritone)
CRONIES #1 AND #2/ENSEMBLE – Jerry Cruncher's shovel-wielding fellow graverobbers (solo singing)
MRS. CRUNCHER/ENSEMBLE – Jerry's prayerful, nervous spouse
LITTLE LUCIE – Charles Darnay and Lucie Manette's little girl (solo singing)
FRENCH PRESIDENT/ENSEMBLE – Presides over the Tribunal in Paris
YOUNG MAN/ENSEMBLE – Early to late teens, young peasant mortally wounded by the Marquis (Tenor, sings to A)
SEAMSTRESS/ENSEMBLE – Timid, young woman unjustly condemned to die on the guillotine (Lyric soprano, sings to D)
TRUNKEY/ENSEMBLE – Guard in the Parisian prison of La Force where Darnay is kept
In addition to the featured ensemble roles above, the following smaller roles should also be cast from the Ensemble:
BAILIFF, JUDGE, SOLDIER, YOUNG WOMAN, MARQUIS' BROTHER, MARQUISE DE GARON, CHILD, NUMBER KEEPER.
Note: There are 11 principle roles (7 men, 3 women, 1 little girl) and 9 featured ensemble roles. A minimum of 4 men and women are required for the ensemble (6 men and 6 women preferred for three-part singing in places).
A Tale of Two Cities can be performed with either a large cast or a smaller cast utilizing creative doubling. The Broadway cast featured 38 actors, but the show could be done effectively with as few as 15.