Marble City Opera will perform Pagliacci for three consecutive days in three cities. Before the opera begins, a member of the small theatrical road company, Tonio, who looks like a clown, steps before the curtain. He tells the audience that a clown is also a man, so a clown feels sorrow and pity just like a man. The opera is a play within a play. The troupe of clowns gets into town to give a performance, and the action that happens off stage ends up playing out on stage with love, betrayal and murder.