Working with Ellen Stewart andAndrei Serban, and withPeter Brook, Swados worked to develop a new sensory language of sound, rhythm, and movement that transcended traditional verbal speech.[9] Swados' musical compositions forFragments of a Greek Trilogy (Medea,Electra, andTrojan Women) during the early 1970s at La MaMa and for Peter Brook'sConference of the Birds in the later 1970s laid the groundwork for musical innovation in both American and international theatre.
She was profiled by filmmakerLinda Feferman in the 1977 short documentaryThe Girl with the Incredible Feeling, a title drawn from a 1975 children's book which she wrote and illustrated. The documentary blends performance footage, home movies, testimonial, and an animated dramatization of the title book, narrated by actorKenneth McMillan, with her illustrations animated byCarol Ehrlich.[10]
Although many of Swados' works were musicals, her work drew fromfolk andworld music rather than exclusively frommusical theatre. Much of her work dealt with issues such as racism, murder, and mental illness.
Her first Broadway success,Runaways, was intended to be a community service piece with a short run. However, after appearing atThe Public Theater,[3] the show transferred toBroadway in May 1978.[2] Swados' first musical withGarry Trudeau,Doonesbury, opened on Broadway at theBiltmore Theatre in November 1983.[11] In 1984, Swados composed the music for Garry Trudeau's satirical musicalRap Master Ronnie.[1] In 1985, Swados' musicalThe Beautiful Lady, concerning the life and works of six Russian poets who lived, composed and performed in St. Petersburg at the time of theRevolution, won the firstHelen Hayes "Best New Play" award. Swados also composed music for film (Four Friends, 1981[12]) and television (Seize the Day, 1987[13]), and performed live atCarnegie Hall.[14]
She published three novels, three non-fiction books, and nine children's books. Her later books includedMy Depression: A Picture Book,Sidney's Animal Rescue, andAt Play: Teaching Teenagers Theater.My Depression: A Picture Book (2005), was made intoan animated short film that was an official selection of theTribeca Film Festival in 2014.[15] The film includes voices bySigourney Weaver andSteve Buscemi.[16] In June 2016, Swados' final novel,Walking The Dog, was posthumously published byThe Feminist Press. The narrative follows a formerchild prodigy painter and rich-girlkleptomaniac as she struggles to reintegrate into society following a botched heist which left her incarcerated for two decades.[17] Swados' autobiography,The Four of Us, A Family Memoir, was published byFarrar, Straus and Giroux in 1991.[18]
Shortly after Swados' death in 2016, the actressDiane Lane honored her by establishing a grant for arts educators.[20] The two had a personal connection that dated back to the 1970s. Swados provided the music for Lane's acting debut inAndrei Serban's 1972 production ofMedea, and collaborated with the actress again onRunaways.[20]
Runaways was revived in July 2016, after Swados' death, by theNew York City Center as a part of itsEncores! Off-Center season, a series that explores rarely-revivedoff-Broadway shows.[21]
In 2020Ghostlight Records released an album by the name ofThe Liz Swados Project featuring many of her alt-musical singer/composer heirs to honour her music.[22]
In 2023, Swados' musicalThe Beautiful Lady was staged Off-Broadway in New York City at La MaMa's Ellen Stewart Theater. It was directed byAnne Bogart using Swados' book with adaptions by Jocelyn Clarke.[23]
Mythos Oedipus (1985; La MaMa; directed byEllen Stewart, music by Swados)[35]
Religious Revelry - Esther: A Vaudeville Megillah (1988; Mosaic Theatre at the92nd Street Y; narration based onElie Wiesel'sPurim lecture "Beauty and Commitment"; written, composed, and directed by Swados)[36]
