Days After Her Passing, City Center Adds Elizabeth Swados' RUNAWAYS to 2016 Encores! Off-Center Season

BroadwayWorld has confirmed that Encores! Off-Center Artistic Director and Tony winner Jeanine Tesori has today added Elizabeth Swados' 1978 musical Runaways to the 2016 Encores! Off-Center season. The news comes just days after Swados passed away.

Sam Pinkleton will helm the production, which will also feature choreography by Ani Taj, who were both students of Swados' at NYU Tisch.

"When I came to Encores! Off-Center, Runaways was at the top of my list of shows to present," said Tesori in a statement released today. "I have always wanted to honor Liz's work and thank her for the extraordinary contributions she made as a theater artist. She was a woman to look up to and made room for other artists like myself."

Tesori added: "Six months ago, I approached Liz to ask permission to present Runaways...and we began talking about how to bring this show to life for a new generation. We decided to cast the production largely from an open call to high school students across the five boroughs, a gesture that Liz loved. Since we can't do Runaways with her, we'll now do it for her. We are heartbroken by the news of her passing and our hearts go out to her widow, Roz."

New York City Center's Encores! Off-Centerseries has been called "a summer theater highlight" (The New York Times). The series presents Off-Broadway musicals that pushed creative boundaries when they were first produced. Filtered through the lens of today's artists, these shows are presented not as historical documents but as living, vital works that continue to resonate with audiences.

Check out RUNAWAYS' performance at the 1978 Tony Awards below!