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But it was a chance phone conversation last week that surprised Joseph with what may be the best reason to do these two shows: they are both linked to the same Conestoga High School alumnus, Craig Lucas, who wrote "Reckless" and performed in the original production of Stephen Sondheim's "Sweeney Todd." Lucas graduated from Conestoga in 1969.
"This is definitely one of those 'strange but true' moments," Joseph said. "I had no idea of the Conestoga connection with Lucas or either show when I chose them."
Joseph became aware of the connection when a woman called the school this week seeking to buy tickets for the upcoming performances of "Reckless."
"She stated that she hadn't been in touch with Craig in years," Joseph said. "I said, Craig who?"
"And then she said, 'the playwright, Craig Lucas,' and indicated that she had known him when they were both at Conestoga, and I almost fell off my chair."
Joseph then went searching through school records to confirm that there had been a Craig Lucas who attended Conestoga, and that he was the same person as the well-known playwright.
The school library revealed a Conestoga and Tredyffrin/Easttown High School directory which listed "Lucas, Craig, 1969 (graduation year), Playwright" with a New York address. The 1969 high-school yearbook showed a senior by that name, and stated he had been a member of the drama club in 10th, 11th and 12th grades.
Finally, another school employee advised Joseph that during an unrelated search she had found a list of potential career speakers from the Class of '69 which named Lucas, referring to him as the playwright who wrote "Prelude to a Kiss." Internet biographies of Lucas listed him as writing both "Reckless" and "Prelude to a Kiss," among other plays.
The connection to "Sweeney Todd" was also revealed during the Internet searches when biographies listed him as a member of the company or chorus in the original 1979 Broadway production. This was confirmed by his name appearing in the original cast listing in the libretto published in 1991 by Applause Theatre Book Publishers, and by a picture with caption describing him performing in the show, included in the book Backstage: Broadway Behind the Curtain by Rivka Shifman Katvan.
"I just couldn't believe it," Joseph said, "and when I told the students, they were stunned and excited to know they would be presenting shows in which a famous former student had prominently been involved."
According to several Internet sources, after graduating from Conestoga, Lucas studied theater and creative writing at Boston University. In the 1970s he performed in the Broadway productions of the musicals "Shenandoah," "Rex" and "On the Twentieth Century," in addition to "Sweeney Todd."
As a playwright, his works include "Reckless," which was performed Off-Broadway in 1983 and revived on Broadway in 2004, "Blue Window," "Longtime Companion," "Prelude to a Kiss," "God's Heart," "Missing Persons," "Stranger" and "The Dying Gaul." His musical credits include "Marry Me A Little" which he conceived and developed with Norman Rene with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, the book for "The Light in the Piazza" and the libretto for the opera "Orpheus in Love," for composer Gerald Busby. Lucas has written the screenplays for "Reckless," "Prelude to a Kiss," "Longtime Companion" and "The Dying Gaul," which he also directed.
He has been honored with two Obie Awards (one each for writing and direction), a Tony Award nomination, the New York Film Critics Award for Best Screenplay, the Outer Critics Award, the Los Angeles Drama Critics Award and the Sundance Audience Award, among others. Lucas is the Associate Artistic Director at the Intiman Theater in Seattle.
