The Show Must Go On! features two teams of player actors who attempt to perform their roles in the included play Covet Thy Neighbors' Asses! so convincingly that their teammates can guess the occupation, motivation or affectation that they are attempting to exhibit during their performance (with these three characteristics being determined by cards drawn by the players at the start of play). If the teammates guess correctly, the actor wins a coin and keeps the appropriate card; if not, the actor may return a previously collected coin to discard one of their cards.
After completing three portions of dialogue in the play or having no cards in hand, an actor moves to the bottom of the line-up and refills their hand, then one of their teammates takes the stage. The two teams perform in turn as separate characters in the play, so two actors are always "on stage" performing during the game.
When the play ends, each team scores one point for each piece of gold it has and the indicated points on the cards it has pocketed. Which team has performed better wins!