Steal Away: The Living History of Harriet Tubman

by Rick Balian

Steal Away combines on-stage actors and puppets to tell the story of one of America’s greatest heroines — from her youth spent enslaved in Maryland to her service on the Underground Railroad and her continuing efforts to help others in need throughout her lifetime. Much of the dialogue in the play is taken from Harriet’s own words — at least her words as written down by others.

Steal Away and New Perspectives Theatre Company (NP) received a commendation from New York State for bringing Harriet's story to thousands of New York City children. NP was also honored to be invited to perform the play at the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park in Maryland. Steal Away has been performed in many states — from Maine to California.

“In the best of all worlds, children would spend every Saturday afternoon seeing productions like this one.”  – oobr.com (The Off-Off-Broadway Review) 

“Steal Away is a fascinating and poignant production. Although aimed at children, the play is also enlightening for adults.”   – Lauren Graeber, The New York Times

“The seamless interface between actors and puppets provided a magical atmosphere of supreme storytelling. Steal Away stole our hearts as it delivered a poignant portrait of Harriet Tubman, a true American heroine.”  – Lynn Berkowitz, Director of Education, Allentown Art Museum 

“The story was wonderful. It helped with our two topics about Black History Month and Women’s History Month. The use of actors and puppets was very effective.” 
– Robert Hahn, 5th Grade Teacher 

“The performance and activity were excellent. The story was told on a child’s level of comprehension. The question and answer period and the hands-on with the puppets was a rewarding experience for the students.”  – Debra Litman, 3rd Grade Teacher 

Characters

Harriet Tubman: Harriet in her late 70s and also in her mid-30s
Young Harriet (Araminta  Ross): Harriet as a young girl
Wesley Scrod: A reporter
Ben Ross: Harriet’s father
Nia: One of Young Harriet’s friends
Miss Susan: The mistress of the big house on a plantation
Dwayne: Miss Susan’s baby
Charles: A young boy Harriet meets on the plantation
Overseer: A field boss on a plantation
Stewart: A plantation owner
Joe: An adult planning to escape slavery
Brinton Turkle: A Quaker man

Minimum cast: 4, if puppets (for Young Harriet, Ben, Nia, Dwayne, Charles, and Joe) are used in conjunction with onstage actors. Except for Dwayne, the baby, the show can be produced with all onstage actors.

Running time: approx. 45 minutes

World Voices

This play is part of New Perspectives Theatre Company’s World Voices program. World Voices uses stories and fables from around the world to illustrate the strong common bonds among us all. The shows run 50–60 minutes and include a participatory game or activity related to the story. Each play can be performed with puppets and actors or actors only. 

If you’d like to book a production or produce a show yourself, contact Rick at theateroftheobvious@icloud.com or New Perspectives Theatre Company (newperspectivestheatre.org) at newper37@gmail.com.