"Even though 'Runaways' only takes up 80 minutes, Swados herself appears to run out of fresh comments to make...What Swados had going for her then, though, and what director Sam Pinkleton and choreographer Ani Taj have now are young performers bringing 'Runaways' to exuberant life...There is no way to overestimate the contribution these on-stage runaways are offering the audience...While depicting runaways, they do an admirable job of running away with Swados’s show."
Read more

"Part social commentary, part devastating drama, part comedy, part musical entertainment, and a riveting platform to showcase a group of extremely talented young performers...Each story builds to tell a harrowing description of abuse, neglect or violence that explained why the teen chose to run away from home...It is non-linear, with no defining plot, but it was an involving, emotionally charged, heart-wrenching and ultimately uplifting, cathartic experience."
Read more

“Salsa, reggae, pop-rock tunes, chanting, and accompanied monologues fill the theater without hurting one’s ears…Next to nothing about this piece feels dated. Director Sam Pinkleton manages a stage swarming with actors who sit, stand, lie, dance, sing, fight and sign in small groups as well as company numbers without, miraculously, ever getting messy...The wonderful cast is almost all without stage-kid consciousness. Dramatization is dynamic and credible.”
Read more

"I think most of the people carrying on about how amazing 'Runaways' is are really saying that the original production was groundbreaking, and that they like being able to revisit it. Without taking anything away from the work the young actors are doing, this didn't strike me as revelatory...To be sure, there are plenty of moving, poignant moments in it...But when the curtain came down and I left the theatre, 'Runaways' didn't stay with me."
Read more