Turning Tragedy to Comedy

We’re celebrating the plays that prove even the darkest stories can have a lighter side. From murder and mayhem to epic tales and literary classics, these clever comedies turn tragedy on its head and bring a whole lot of laughter along the way. Below, explore this collection of titles sure to put a smile on people’s faces.

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Archduke by Rajiv Joseph (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Dark Comedy/ 1w, 4m)
Belgrade, 1914. Three hungry young men are offered something to eat (and the chance to change the course of history). Their mission: kill Archduke Franz Ferdinand and set the century alight. Embark on this darkly comedic journey by award-winning writer Rajiv Joseph – described by Time Out as “a delicious cackle in the dark”– as it uses history and comedy to talk about the past in tandem with our own moment. 

A Devil Inside by David Lindsay-Abaire (US)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy/ 3w, 3m)
When Gene Slater turns 21, his mother reveals a family secret: his father was brutally murdered. But while Gene would rather pursue the girl of his dreams, a tormented Russian literature professor, a mysterious stranger and an increasingly unhinged cast of characters become entangled in a bizarre web of obsession, revenge and deception. Set on New York’s Lower East Side, David Lindsay-Abaire’s frantic dark comedy twists the conventions of nineteenth-century Russian literature into a wildly unpredictable murder mystery, complete with hallucinations, nightmares, train wrecks and a plot that spirals gloriously out of control.

Ben Hur by Patrick Barlow (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy/ 1w, 3m)
Based on one of the nineteenth century’s best-selling novels, Patrick Barlow’s hilarious adaptation condenses one of the greatest epic tales ever told into a fast-paced comedy for just four actors, with the option to expand the cast to 26. An amateur theatre troupe attempts to stage the sweeping story of Judah Ben-Hur, a Jewish prince and merchant who falls into slavery before rising to become a champion charioteer in ancient Jerusalem. The actors battle their way through chariot races, sea battles and stage combat, all while rivalries, missed opportunities and offstage romances threaten to derail the production.

Ben Jonson’s The Alchemist by Jeffrey Hatcher (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy/ 2w, 8m)
London. 1610. It’s plague time, and a servant and his two con artist co-conspirators are ready and willing to fleece hordes of greedy and terrified Londoners. It’s comic gold with dupes, double-dupes, duels, disguises and a lucky flea named Lewis. 

Crime and Punishment, A Comedy by Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy/ 5 any gender)
Dostoyevsky’s turn-of-the-century masterpiece is reimagined as a 90-minute romp of a morality tale, with five actors playing over 50 zany characters. Riffing on the famous novel – and all of Russian literature – this classic story follows Raskolnikov, an impoverished student who becomes a murderer to save his family. Based on the book you didn’t actually read in high school, this is literature retold as you’ve never seen it before. 

Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors by Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen (US/UK) 
(Full-Length Play, Comedy/ 5 any gender) 
Nobody’s ever seen a Dracula this funny. Five or more actors play dozens of zany characters in a madcap take on the classic tale that’s guaranteed to induce blood-curdling screams – of laughter! Bram Stoker’s legendary vampire tale is put into a blender with Mel Brooks, Monty Python and The 39 Steps in a lightning-fast, laugh-out-loud, 90-minute, gender-bending romp. In this bloodcurdlingly hilarious send-up of the literary classic, casting is flexible and expandable for up to 24 actors. 

The Iliad, The Odyssey, and All of Greek Mythology in 99 Minutes or Less by Jay Hopkins and John Hunter (US)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy/ 2w, 3m)
On a simple stage, with the clock ticking in front of everyone’s eyes, the cast speeds through all of Greek mythology. It’s funny, updated and easy to understand. All the silly decisions, absurd destinies and goofy characters are presented lightning-fast with hysterical results as the clock is stopped with only seconds to spare. 

Juliet and This Guy Romeo by Don Zolidis (US )
(Short Play, Comedy/ 7w, 3m, 10 any gender youth)
Two rival families are at war in Verona, Wisconsin, where the adults wage political battles on Facebook and the teenagers take their feuds to the hashtag battlefield. But when Juliet and Romeo, two teens from opposite sides, fall head over heels in love, Shakespeare’s classic tragedy takes a very modern turn. As the young couple start speaking in iambic pentameter, Don Zolidis delivers a zany comedy that pokes fun at online political arguments, family rivalries and the chaos of young love.

Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery by Ken Ludwig (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy/ 1w, 4m)
Get your deerstalker cap on – the play’s afoot! From the award-winning mastermind of mayhem comes a fast-paced comedy about everyone’s favorite detective solving his most notorious case. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson must crack the mystery of “The Hound of the Baskervilles” before a family curse dooms its newest heir. 

Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie and Ken Ludwig (US)
(Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy/ 5w, 6m)
In Ken Ludwig’s thrilling stage adaptation of Agatha Christie’s story that ups the ante on both the humor and cozy mystery elements, Hercule Poirot becomes entangled in a web of deceit and desire aboard a cruise ship on the Nile River. When a murder occurs among the passengers, Poirot springs into action to unmask a killer who could strike again at any moment.

Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie and Ken Ludwig (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy/ 5w, 5m)
Ken Ludwig’s clever adaptation of the Agatha Christie classic boasts all the glamour, intrigue and suspense of Dame Agatha’s celebrated novel, with a healthy dose of humor to quicken the pace. Just after midnight, a snowdrift stops the Orient Express in its tracks. An American tycoon lies dead in his compartment, stabbed eight times, his door locked from the inside. Isolated and with a killer in their midst, the passengers rely on detective Hercule Poirot to identify the murderer – before another victim is taken.

Ken Ludwig’s Moriarty by Ken Ludwig (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy/ 2w, 3m)
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are back on the case! Five actors play over 40 roles in this international mystery adventure, which has danger – and laughter! – around every corner. 

Oedipus for Kids! by Robert Saferstein, Gil Varod and Kimberly Patterson (US )
(Full-Length Musical, Dark Comedy/ 1w, 2m)
What happens when a theatre company decides to turn one of Greek mythology’s darkest tragedies into a show for children? All hell breaks loose. The Fuzzy Duck Theatre Company is tackling Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, complete with catchy songs, questionable educational content and a sponsor to impress. But when backstage tensions, a bitter divorce and a plot for revenge threaten to derail the performance, this misguided production spirals into gloriously dark chaos. Robert Saferstein, Gil Varod and Kimberly Patterson’s twisted musical comedy takes aim at children’s theatre, classical literature and theatrical ambition, proving that some stories are best kept far away from the school assembly.

Scrooge in Rouge by Ricky Graham, Yvette Hargis, Jeffery Roberson and Jefferson Turner (US)
(Full-Length Musical, Comedy/ 4 any gender adult)
This quick-change, cross-dressing version of the Charles Dickens classic is set in a Victorian music hall. The Royal Music Hall Twenty-Member Variety Players are beset with a widespread case of food poisoning, leaving only three surviving members to soldier on through a performance of A Christmas Carol. The undaunted trio gamely faces missed cues, ill-fitting costumes and solving the problem of having no one to play Tiny Tim. Done in the style of British Music Hall, this raucous holiday treat abounds with bad puns, bawdy malapropisms, naughty double-entendres and witty songs.

tempOdyssey by Dan Dietz (US)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 2w, 3m)
A temp worker named Genny launches us on an epic, fantastical journey through corporate America, Appalachia, astrophysics and beyond as she becomes convinced she’s the goddess of death. Fleeing the imminent creation of a black hole on one side of the country, she lands smack in the middle of a bomb manufacturing company on the other. Her only hope lies in the unlikely guise of a nameless temp who considers himself immortal. Can he help Genny cast off her dark mythology once and for all? Or will she explode, taking all of downtown Seattle with her? Dan Dietz melds the absurdity of contemporary cubicle life with the epic poetics of Greek mythology, and the results are hilarious, horrifying and ultimately uplifting. 

 

2022 Chichester Festival Theatre Production (Tristram Kenton)

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To explore more titles full of tragedy, comedy, or an exciting mixture of both, visit Concord Theatricals in the US or UK.