Neal Radice is Artistic Director of Alleyway Theatre in Buffalo, New York. The company, which he founded in 1980, is dedicated to producing new theatre works. Many of Alleyway's most popular productions through the years have been Mr. Radice's own creations and they are available for the first time on this site where you may read brief summaries and request perusal materials including scripts, librettos or sound recordings.
Mr. Radice was born in 1948 in Buffalo, New York. He received his Master of Arts degree from the University of Buffalo where he taught acting and play production as a graduate fellow and adjunct lecturer. He has taught directing and acting for the British Theatre Association, directed and designed for the Stephenville Festival of Newfoundland, and represented the United States at the International Theatre Association's Second Biannual Conference in Krakow, Poland.
As a theatre designer, he has created scenery, costumes, or lighting for more than two hundred productions and designed or consulted on the design of numerous theatre facilities. His credits as a playwright, composer, musical arranger or lyricist include incidental music for theatre, full-length plays and musicals, modern operas, comedy and musical revues, plays for children, and an adaptation of A CHRISTMAS CAROL.
Is Yours A Small Theatre?
Each play or musical available on this website may be performed on a unit set.
Interested theatre producers seeking perusal materials or more information may contact
Neal Radice at:
nradice@roadrunner.com
or 74 Crescent Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14214/716-695-5200.
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BEOWULF: THE ROCK EPIC
book & lyrics by Neal Radice
music by Ken Kaufman & Neal Radice
Beowulf, the Viking hero, faces Grendel, Grendel's Mother, and even a fire breathing dragon as tuneful rock music pours out of a Scandinavian mountain of scaffolding. Geats, Danes and Vikettes (the female back up group) sing and dance throughout. Casting for this production could be greatly expanded but it was originally performed with a company of 18 including musicians. (7m/6f, 5 piece rock band, 2 hrs.) |
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PEER
book & lyrics by Neal Radice
music by Neal Radice & Ken Kaufman
A life's journey comes around to one final, triumphant moment in this fast-paced musical. Based on Ibsen's PEER GYNT, the far flung adventure goes even into the Mountain of the Troll King. It's full of fun, surprises, and magical music ranging in style from blues to country to gospel to Broadway. Its chorus and dance numbers offer room for expanded casting or it can be played with a cast of eleven. (6m/5f, piano or orchestra, 2 hours) |
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THE MISS GREATER LOESSERVILLE PAGEANT
book, music & lyrics by Neal Radice
A musical spoof of small town American beauty pageants. It's got it all... talent, swim suits, evening gowns, back stabbing, parental interference, souvenir programs... with plenty of room for comic invention throughout. The winner and runners-up are actually selected by audience judges at each performance making each final scene a comedy improvisation. (1m/6f/1m extra, 1m pianist, 1:45) |
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A CHRISTMAS CAROL
adapted by Neal Radice
This delightfully faithful adaptation of Dickens' classic never fails to shift Christmas spirits into high gear. It is, without a doubt, the most playable version you’ll find. A small cast performs all the roles, and, with only modest embellishment, it’s as true to Dickens’ original as a stage adaptation can be. (5m/3f/3c/expandable, 1:30) |
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THE ROAD TO BETHLEHEM
book, music & lyrics by Neal Radice
A faithful musical adaptation of the story of Christmas based on the New Testament. "Inspirational… a dramatic sweep of gesture sound and emotion… the entire production is top notch." This is the opposite of a Christmas pageant. The people are real, the places are simple. It’s power is in the very accessibility of the story and the music. (5m/3f, piano or orchestra, 1:30) |
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MINIMUM HABITAT
by Neal Radice
A play for eight actors and a bed. A series of vignettes touch the many little moments in which lives are changed within the confines of the smallest of habitats. From birth to death, comedy to tragedy; all the living we do around one elemental piece of furniture. (4m/4f, 1:45) |
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GILGAMESH
book, music & lyrics by Neal Radice
Ishtar, Goddess of Love is flight attendant on this epic adventure that travels the astronomical distances between loneliness and friendship, life and death, heaven and hell. It's the world's oldest story told with new music for restless hearts. A modern opera flavored with rock, Latin and show music, available on disk. (3m/1f, Latin band, 1:50) |
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THE PERPETUAL MOTION MAN
book by James Engelhardt music & lyrics by Neal Radice
Did science ignore the greatest discovery in modern times? This powerful musical is based on the true story of the man who claimed to have done the impossible. His great perpetual motion wheel turned non-stop for 54 days, but his early eighteenth century downfall was brought on by a woman scorned. (8m/2f, piano or orchestra, 2 hours) |
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SHADOW SERENADE
book by James Engelhardt & Neal Radice
music & lyrics by Neal Radice
Adapted from a Hans Christian Andersen story, this mythical tale features romantic and memorable music that crosses the boundaries of place and time. A photographer uses his talent to search for truth and beauty only to discover the dark side when he mysteriously loses his shadow. (5m/3f, piano or orchestra, 2 hours) |
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PAN-AMBITIONS
book, music & lyrics by Neal Radice
Buffalo, New York is the backdrop as four turn-of-the-century Americans each embrace the future; a future exemplified by the pageantry and grandeur of the great Pan American Exposition. One fateful day in 1901, paths cross, shots are fired, they, the city and the nation embark on an unforeseen journey. A tuneful trip to a time gone by but not forgotten. "Do the Pan, don’t miss a thing!" (5m/3f, piano or orchestra, 1:50) |
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OVER THE FALLS
book, music & lyrics by Neal Radice
based on a play by Arlene Brent Fanale
A happy new musical version of one of the great tales of Niagara Falls. In the midst of the Pan American Exposition… for the first time ever, someone goes over Niagara Falls in a barrel and lives! A century later, Anna Edson Taylor’s amazing story will surprise and delight as you ride the rapids of her life. (4m/4f, piano or 11 piece orchestra, 2:05) |
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CASEY’S SOCIAL CLUB
by Neal Radice
Matt Casey has a club where folks with some pretensions to culture can go for an evening of high-toned entertainment in this turn of the century musical revue. The story line’s as thin as a thread, but it weaves songs, snappy patter and the pairing of four couples. Flirtations and misunderstandings give way to sighs and beating hearts... all to the persuasive words and music of the like of George M. Cohan, Scott Joplin, and Victor Herbert! (4m/4f, piano, 1:50) |
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COLUMBUS
book, music & lyrics by Neal Radice
based on a play by Robert Kornhiser
Admiral Christopher Columbus discovers that his most compelling exploration is on dry land; as governor of a colony, searching through the darkness of his own heart. The wind has gone from his sails and only a whisper of treachery and deceit remains in this new world of music, dance, masks and spectacle. (6m/2f, piano or orchestra, 2 hours) |
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ITALIAN SERENADE
book, music & lyrics by Neal Radice
A musical celebration of the hopes and heartaches, failures and glorious victories of the great immigration that brought Italian families to America. The heart and soul of a culture is captured in musical styles that range from tarantella to grand opera to jazz. Easily adaptable to include local references of any city with an Italian community. Suitable for all ages. (6m/6f, piano or 10 piece orchestra, 2 hours) |
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TOOLEY AND MARY
rock opera ballet, music and lyrics by Neal Radice
This musical allegory of the 60’s unfolds in song, dance and projected images. A small town boy and average teenager seeks his destiny in the big city where he discovers that he’s not so ordinary after all. The decade of peace, love and revolution declares him a phenomenon, but, on the verge of success, reality comes crashing down. (3-4 vocalists, 4 or more dancers, 4-5 piece rock band, 90 minutes)
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This trilogy of Sherlock Holmes musical mysteries is the creation of composer/lyricist Neal Radice and playwright Gordon Farrell. They are new stories based on the original characters created by Arthur Conan Doyle. Although the three full-length shows are designed to be produced independently, they share musical themes and casting and design requirements which make all or any two of them ideal for production in repertory. They were premiered in the order displayed below at Alleyway Theatre between April, 1996 and January, 1999.
