Pop-up theatre performance of Runaways July 19, 21

STRAFFORD » Tredyffrin Public Library will present a pop-up theatre performance of the musical Runaways on July 19 and July 21, 2017. Under the supervision of Teen Librarian Laurie Doan, the show is being directed by Charlotte Kalilec, a rising senior at Conestoga High School, who will lead a cast of eight high school students. The Musical Director is Anne Sprissler.

Performances of Runaways will be at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday July 19, 2017 and Friday July 21, 2017 in Tredyffrin Public Library’s community space. Tickets are $5 for students and $7 for adults. Please contact Laurie Doan (ldoan@ccls. org, 610-688-7092 x200) at Tredyffrin Public Library for information and tickets. Note: This musical presents some mature themes and therefore is not recommended for children under 13 years.

Book, Music and Lyrics by Elizabeth Swados. By special permission of Samuel French, Inc.

Runaways is a musical which was written, composed and directed by Elizabeth Swados, about the lives of children who run away from home and live on inner city streets. The characters are based on real life runaways who Swados studied in workshops that she conducted in the late 1970s. The teen actors portray the fragmented life of the runaway through a series of songs, monologues and poems, where they examine and explain why they are runaways.

Director Kalilec chose the show because of the deep emotional impact she felt when she saw the 2016 off-Broadway revival in New York City. Rehearsals began after the school year ended, therefore the show is coming together in a compressed timeframe. “I’m very proud of our focused and dedicated cast, who are working hard to learn the show in such a short period of time”, noted Kalilec.

Runaways premiered off-Broadway Feb. 21, 1978 at the Public Theatre Cabaret as presented by the New York Shakespeare Festival. It moved to Broadway at the Plymouth Theatre on May 13, 1978 and closed on Dec. 31st, 1978 after 12 pre-views and 274 performances. The musical was most recently presented in 2016 as part of New York City Center’s Encores! Off-Center’s concert series, shortly after Ms. Swados passed away.

Under the supervision of Teen Librarian Laurie Doan, the show is being directed by Charlotte Kalilec, a rising senior at Conestoga High School, who will lead a cast of eight high school students. Here Kalilec assigns blocking to cast members (from...

The show is being directed by Charlotte Kalilec, a rising senior at Conestoga High School, who will lead a cast of eight high school students.