Elizabeth Swados (born 1951) is an American writer, composer, musician, and director. Her work generally eschews conventional formats in favor of her own unique approaches. While some of her subject matter is humorous, such as her political satire of Ronald Reagan, Rap Master Ronnie (a collaboration with Garry Trudeau), much of her work deals with dark issues such as racism, murder, and mental illness.

Although many of Elizabeth Swados' plays are musicals, her compositions draw from folk and world music genres rather than from standard musical theater. Her first major success, Runaways , was intended to be a community service piece with a short run. However, after appearing at the Public Theater, the show was picked up on Broadway and became a surprise hit. It garnered her five 1978 Tony Award nominations, in the categories Best Musical, Book (Musical), Choreographer, Director (Musical), and Score. The Obie Awards honored her also, with a win for Direction. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.