Billie is a 37-year-old graduate student in psychology who views her Harlem neighborhood as a cultural sanctuary. Deeply attached to her Black heritage and heavily influenced by the philosophies of Malcolm X, she approaches life with intense, uncompromising passion. She struggles to process the dissolution of her marriage to Othello and turns her apartment living room into a makeshift alchemy lab to cope with her heartbreak. She previously used her deceased mother's life insurance policy to fund Othello's education, which worsens the pain of his abandonment.

Othello is a 40-year-old literature professor at Columbia University who prioritizes his academic ascent over his community ties. He embraces integration into white society and firmly believes in assimilation, frequently arguing with Billie over her Black Nationalism. He seeks respect from his peers regardless of his skin color and readily adapts his demeanor to appease his white colleagues. He believes that Black men have been historically emasculated and prefers the company of white women, claiming they bring less anger to relationships.

She is a performer living during the Harlem Renaissance, an era she views as a miraculous realization of a dream for African Americans. She supports her partner's artistic pursuits but feels deeply threatened by his growing ambition outside their cultural circle. Her intense love gradually warps into extreme jealousy as she suspects he prefers a white director over her.

He is a Black actor working during the Harlem Renaissance who feels creatively stifled by the stereotyped minstrel roles he is forced to perform. Desiring to play classical Shakespearean characters like Hamlet and Macbeth, he seeks validation from those who can elevate his career. He rehearses classical lines while wiping off his minstrel makeup, demonstrating the severe tension between his racial reality and his professional aspirations.

Her is an enslaved woman living during the final days of the Civil War. Highly aware of the physical and psychological abuses inflicted upon Black individuals, she desperately plans for freedom and uses these historical stories to steel her resolve. She packs her bags and dreams of buying a house on a hill, placing her complete faith in her partner to lead their escape to Canada.

Him is an enslaved blacksmith working on Miss Dessy's estate who originally plans to flee to Canada. Despite discussing freedom and passing down a family heirloom handkerchief to his partner, he finds himself conflicted about leaving the plantation. The respect and reliance he receives from the estate's white mistress fulfill his deep desire to feel needed and validated.

Magi is Billie's 41-year-old friend and landlady, who inherited her property through her great-grandmother's hidden relationship with a white property owner. She provides a jovial contrast to Billie's depressive state, offering practical advice and a sympathetic ear. Despite complaining about a shortage of reliable men, she maintains a hopeful outlook on romance and eagerly pursues local dating prospects.

Amah is Billie's 33-year-old sister-in-law, a grounded mother who dreams of operating her own hair salon. Frustrated by the requirement to learn white hair techniques for her cosmetician's certificate, she remains focused on community building and practical advancement. She acts as a stabilizing force in Billie's life, consistently urging her to choose forgiveness over destructive resentment.

Canada is Billie's 67-year-old father who fled to Nova Scotia following his wife's death, self-medicating his grief with alcohol. Now five years sober, he returns to Harlem hoping to make amends and provide the parental support he previously neglected. He offers wisdom through African parables and actively tries to guide his daughter away from the mental illness that also affected her mother.

Mona is a white faculty member at Columbia University in her thirties. Engaged to Othello, she represents the mainstream academic validation he desperately seeks. Though she remains offstage, her relationship with Othello serves as the primary source of Billie's heartbreak. In the 1928 timeline, a white theater director also named Mona serves a similar disruptive role by capturing the professional loyalty of He.

Andrew is Billie's brother and Amah's husband. He represents a stable, civically engaged presence in the Harlem community and acts as a point of contact for his estranged father's return to the city.

Jenny is the young daughter of Andrew and Amah. She draws pictures for her Aunt Billie, serving as an innocent anchor to the family connections Billie has begun to neglect in her depression.

Miss Dessy is a white plantation owner's daughter in 1860 who relies heavily on her estate's blacksmith. Her dependence on him provides him with a sense of masculine validation that disrupts his plans to escape to freedom.

Chris Yago is an academic colleague of Othello at Columbia University. He operates within the predominantly white institutional framework that Othello works within, serving as a professional contact during Othello's career transitions.