LANCASTER (September 30, 2015) – Pennsylvania’s school funding crisis will take center stage in School Play at McCaskey East High School, 1051 Lehigh Ave., at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 7. The free one-night local showing of the play, which received overwhelmingly positive reviews at sold-out performances last April at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, is part of a statewide tour that will also include showings in Erie, St. Marys, Johnstown, State College, Schuylkill Haven, Harrisburg, Reading, Allentown, Montgomery County, Bryn Mawr and Philadelphia.

The timing of School Play could not be more relevant as the three-month-old budget standoff continues in Harrisburg, with new funding for education at the top of the agenda. The documentary-based live theatre production from playwrights Arden Kass and Seth Bauer, commissioned by Public Citizens for Children and Youth, uses the real voices of more than 100 Pennsylvanians to dramatize funding inequities among school districts across the state.

“Lancaster students deserve the same, quality education as students anywhere else in the state but that will only happen if the state distributes funding more fairly to our schools. I encourage anyone who wants to learn about the impact school funding has on our community to come and see this compelling performance,” said Dr. Damaris Rau, Superintendent of the School District of Lancaster.

“We are putting human faces to this critical issue so people understand why education funding matters,” said playwright Arden Kass. “We want to use the unique abilities of live performance to reach people in a way that’s different from news reports and speeches. By cutting through the numbers and political arguments, we will help discover ways to make things better for our children and communities.”

Free tickets for the one-night performance will be available at the door. To learn more about School Play or to download production materials including a full script, visit www.childrenfirstpa.org/initiatives/school-play/.