plays and musicals by stan peal

The Expanding Sky
Two Act Musical: 3f, 3m Based on the true story of Milton Humason who dropped out school, drove a team of pack mules, helped build an observatory and became an astronomer! While assisting Edwin Hubble, the two made a discovery that changed the scope of astronomy forever.
Commissioned in 2004 by the Ensemble Studio Theatre/Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and the first draft was featured in a professional concert reading at EST’s First Light Festival in New York May of 2005.
"Eureka - The Epic Arts production at Actor's Theatre left us in awe... and sent us home humming"! - Julie York Coppens, Charlotte Observer
Ice maidens
Two-act play: 4f, 4m A Midwestern family’s quiet life is cracked open when an estranged daughter appears at the onset of winter. The rebellious prodigal brings a punked-out boyfriend with her, and burns open the old wounds of a family tragedy, awakening a ghost from the past.
Ice Maidens was developed and produced with support from The Commonweal Theatre Company’s New Play Development Program. Premiering in 2008, it set a new attendance record for the theatre.
"...a moving and heartwarming story populated by folks from the Upper Midwest most of us will recognize." - Rochester Post Bulletin
“Ice Maidens is a strong play... also extremely funny. The fluid clash of sincerity and cynicism, of heat and cold, provide unexpected levity." - Minnesota Theatre
Goddess and the Magdalene
Two-act play (with heavy stage combat): 8f, 6m A mythic fantasy about the feminine side of Divinity. What if the Magdalene were not only wife of the Messiah, but she too had divine purpose to fulfill and a heroic journey to undertake? There are two sides to every story.
“mixing in elements of Greek, Oriental and Nordic myths to fashion a feminine argument for a closer relationship with Mother Earth. …an entertaining piece of theater.” - Graydon Royce, Minneapolis Star Tribune “There is unexpected beauty to it. The experience is maddening, and I still haven't completely shaken it.” - Max Sparber, City Pages, Minneapolis
Juggler to the King
Book and Lyrics by Stan Peal, Music by Ralph Johnson Two-Act Musical: 13f, 8m - Plus chorus (adults and children) Loosely based on The Juggler of Notre Dame” by Anatole France, and “Hamlet” by William Shakespeare. Yorick, a Juggler from a poor village risks everything to become the Juggler to Denmark's King. But when he arrives at his dream, he finds he's little more than a court jester, long having given up his juggling skill for the comfortable life. Hardship and chance conspire to bring him back to his skill and his faith once again, but is it too late?
Scratchy Scratcherton's Revenge
Two-Act Play: 5f, 5m Guns, sex, Armageddon and pizza. In the world of the play, everyone looks like foam-deformed theme park characters, or foul-mouthed Teletubbies. But a glowing vortex begins to reveal the connection between their reality and our own. A bizarreand ridiculous homage to pop culture, it's fun for the whole filthy family!
The Friar and the Nurse
One-act Play: 1f, 1mRomeo's Friar and Juliet's Nurse meet, have a tumultuous affair within the offstage time frame of the classic play. But does a more mature love offer any lasting hope?
“A joyous celebration of falling in love and the mystery of human attraction... It delights” - Gwen Orel, BackStage, New York “It’s beautiful.…I was laughing, crying, and worrying about the characters as if I had known them all my life.” - Sarah Congress, NYTheatre.com “Fat-free dialogue, blessedly devoid of flowery Olde English… a collision between Shakespeare and David Mamet.” - Allison West, Charlotte Theatre Magazine
Through the Water
One-act Play: 5f, 2m Reform Judaism seen through the eyes of 6 individuals from vastly different backgrounds. A lyrical play of intertwining monologues (transcribed from real people) centered around the envisioned voice of Ruth, Mother of David.
Tales of Sex and Horror From the Bible
One Act Play: 3f, 3m A nun and her captor are not what they first seem is this unflinching riff on a selection of the Old Testament's more challenging tales.
The dirty dozen
Collection of 12 short one-acts. Short plays for small casts and simple sets, including the award-winning musical, Snow White and the Seven Deadly Sins.