Marching Band Production
Tragédie Comique
All shows can be adjusted, expanded, or simplified to fit your ensemble.
Tragédie Comique explores the fragile space between laughter and heartbreak, where humor becomes a mask and performance reveals something painfully human. Inspired by the world of theatrical irony, tragic clowns, masquerade, and emotional contradiction, the show moves through elegance, distortion, vulnerability, and final revelation. What begins as wit and spectacle gradually exposes the sadness beneath the surface, inviting the audience into a world where comedy and tragedy are never far apart.
The production unfolds through four movements: A Jest in Earnest, Procession Grotesque, Behind the Smile, and Tragédie Comique. Each movement peels back another layer of the theatrical façade, shifting from playful irony to grotesque exaggeration, then into a deeply personal ballad of regret and longing. In the end, the full tragicomic world is revealed: beautiful, unsettling, dramatic, and strangely familiar.
With rich visual imagery, expressive musical contrasts, and a darkly elegant theatrical identity, Tragédie Comique asks a simple question: when the curtain falls, are we laughing at the tragedy—or grieving the joke?
Source Music
Musical Selections
- I Started a Joke — Barry Gibb, Maurice Gibb, and Robin Gibb
- Once Upon a Time from La Nouba — Benoît Jutras
- Send in the Clowns — Stephen Sondheim
- Tragédie Comique — Tate Fincher
Listen
Hear the Complete Production
Explore all four movements through the complete SoundCloud playlist.
Pricing & Options
Choose the version that fits your program.
Purchase the complete production as written, or have it adapted to better fit the instrumentation and needs of your ensemble.
Pre-Written Production
Standard Edition
$1,595
Complete pre-written production
The complete production as originally scored and designed.
Tailored to Your Ensemble
Adapted Edition
$2,295
Complete pre-written production + ensemble adaptation
The existing production is adjusted to better fit your specific performers, instrumentation, and program needs.
Regional Exclusivity
Each full-show purchase includes title-specific regional exclusivity, subject to availability. Once reserved, the same production will not be licensed to another school within approximately 100 miles of your program for that competitive season. Exclusivity follows the geographic radius across state lines and remains in effect through December 31.
Need More Changes?
Significant rewriting, recomposition, added material, or major structural changes beyond normal ensemble adaptation may require a separate quote.
Ready to talk next steps?
Bring this production to your ensemble.
Use the inquiry form to share your school, timeline, ensemble size, and what kind of adaptation or support you need. I’ll review the details personally and follow up with next steps for this production.
Source music, licensing, percussion needs, and ensemble-specific adjustments can all be discussed during the inquiry process.
Please Note
Important Notices
Note Regarding Percussion Parts/Sounds
The percussion heard in these recordings is included only as a temporary placeholder for playback to suggest pacing, energy, and overall effect. It is not intended to represent a finished battery or front ensemble arrangement, and written percussion parts are not included with this show. Each ensemble should work with its own percussion arranger to create parts that fit its students, instrumentation, visual design, and competitive goals.
- I Started a Joke
- Once Upon a Time
- Send in the Clowns
- Tragédie Comique