‘GRUESOME PLAYGROUND INJURIES’: Nicholas Braun & Kara Young. Photo: Emilio Madrid.
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GRUESOME PLAYGROUND INJURIES
By Rajiv Joseph
Directed by Neil Pepe
Through December 28, 2025
Lucille Lortel Theatre
121 Christopher St.
https://www.gruesomeplaygroundinjuries.com/
By Scott Harrah
Love literally hurts in this powerful revival of Rajiv Joseph’s one-act play Gruesome Playground Injuries at the Lucille Lortel.
Mr. Joseph’s two-character play was last produced in New York in 2011 at Second Stage Theatre, starring Pablo Schreiber and Jennifer Carpenter. Now, Tony-nominated director Neil Pepe has brought the show back to Off-Broadway with two acting powerhouses in the lead roles: two-time Tony Award winner Kara Young (Purpose and Purlie Victorious) and three-time Emmy Award nominee Nicholas Braun (“Succession”), playing Kayleen and Doug, respectively. Over a 30-year span, we see how the childhood friends’ lives intersect through a series of bizarre physical and emotional injuries.
Three decades of an unusual friendship
The story centers on three decades of a highly unconventional friendship. Its nonlinear structure shifts across different time periods, with both characters ranging in age from eight to 38. Nearly every scene depicts Doug and Kayleen discussing an accident, illness, or incident that has caused yet another wound. Supertitles projected onstage introduce each vignette with grisly labels such as “1. Eight: Face Split Open,” “2. Twenty-three: Eye Blown Out by Firework,” and “5. Eighteen: Pink Eye.”
Doug & Kayleen
Doug is a tall, socially awkward milquetoast who frequently gets into accidents and often harms himself, resulting in a parade of external injuries.
Kayleen, meanwhile, is a petite, nervous young woman who bottles up her emotions, and her anguish often overwhelms her physically. She suffers from assorted stomach and digestive ailments and cuts herself with razor blades to externalize the emotional turmoil she cannot express.
They first meet in an elementary school nurse’s office. Over the 90-minute one-act, their encounters take place everywhere from hospital rooms to a mental institution to a funeral home. Throughout the decades, Doug harbors a massive crush on Kayleen and is infatuated with her. Unfortunately, she insists she feels nothing for him. Despite her indifference, Doug remains unable to abandon his unrequited love, and the pair sustains a symbiotic, co-dependent friendship for years.
Dysfunctional bond
Gruesome Playground Injuries explores how some people use physical pain and self-harm to cope with trauma and psychological chaos. Through their many wounds and tragedies, Doug and Kayleen form a dysfunctional bond steeped in codependency and angst.
The tone is psychologically complex and disturbing, reminiscent of Tennessee Williams’s darker works such as Outcry, Something Cloudy, Something Clear, and Camino Real.
Sparse set, eerie lighting & clever makeup design
The sparse set by scenic designer Arnulfo Maldonado consists of a single, versatile room. Eerie lighting by Japhy Weideman, sound design by David Van Tieghem, and clever makeup work by Brian Strumwasser evoke a constant sense of desperation and vividly convey the characters’ many injuries.
Superlative performances
Veteran director Neil Pepe elicits outstanding performances from both Mr. Braun and Ms. Young. As these “scar-crossed” would-be lovers, they possess rare, magnetic chemistry.
Kara Young is consistently a high-strung spitfire and, despite her petite frame, commands the stage with imposing presence. She brings jittery allure and striking fragility to the role.
Nicholas Braun proved his range playing Greg on “Succession,” portraying a socially awkward outsider among ruthless billionaires. As Doug, Mr. Braun brings quiet humility, dignity, and nonstop tension to the character. Braun’s nuanced portrayal makes Doug deeply sympathetic, and we root for him to overcome life’s many obstacles.
Ambiguous ending
Gruesome Playground Injuries concludes with an ambiguous and somewhat unsatisfying ending, leaving us wondering what will become of these two lost souls. Given its serious themes, it is hardly light holiday fare. However, fans of Nicholas Braun or Kara Young will not be disappointed by the emotional fireworks these two extraordinary performers ignite onstage.
Published November 23, 2025
Reviewed at press preview on November 18, 2025
‘GRUESOME PLAYGROUND INJURIES’: Nicholas Braun & Kara Young. Photo: Emilio Madrid.
‘GRUESOME PLAYGROUND INJURIES’: (left) Nicholas Braun & (right) Kara Young & Nicholas Braun. Photos: Emilio Madrid.
‘GRUESOME PLAYGROUND INJURIES’: (top) Kara Young & (bottom) Nicholas Braun & Kara Young. Photos: Emilio Madrid.
‘AMERICAN BUFFALO’: Sam Rockwell & Laurence Fishburne. Photo: Richard Termine.
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AMERICAN BUFFALO
Written by David Mamet
Directed by Neil Pepe
Through July 10, 2022
Circle in the Square
235 West 50th St.
New York, NY
212-239-6202, wwwAmericanBuffaloNYC.com
By David NouNou
It’s hard to review a David Mamet play these days without including his heinous quotes recently on Fox News: “Teachers are abusing children mentally and using sex to do so,” further alleging “Teachers are inclined, particularly men, because men are predators to pedophilia.” It’s amazing he can make quotes like these when most of his plays are full of overt sexism and toxic masculinity driving the narrative. What I find most amazing in today’s culture is the double standard for women. With all the expletives that are used in this play, especially the misogynist name calling of women with the use of the “c” word and the women that are talked about by one character as “lesbian dykes,” some people who find the text most amusing are women. When you are seated at Circle in the Square Theatre, you not only get to hear audience reaction, you also get to see audience reaction. As written and spoken by Mamet, it is acceptable and humorous, but if spoken by the average person on the street, it is offensive, demeaning and contemptible to women.
The action takes place in a junk shop on a Friday morning and later that night around eleven o’clock. In Act I, Donny (Laurence Fishburne), owner of the junk shop and a father figure to the slow-witted Bobby (Darren Criss)— who has made a mistake and apologizes for it—wants Bobby to learn from his mistake. They’re also discussing on how to go about doing “the thing.” In comes Teach (Sam Rockwell), a repugnant conman loser if ever there was one. He is sexist, racist and has total disdain for humanity.
Turns out “the thing” is a robbery to take place later that night. A buyer has come to the shop a couple of days earlier and bought a buffalo nickel for $90. He has given his number to Donny to call him if he should come across some more. Donny now feels he has been cheated and should have gotten more for that nickel Bobby later informs Donny that the buyer has left town with his girlfriend and a suitcase in a car that morning for the weekend and his place will be empty. Upon hearing of this job, Teach wants a piece of the action and wants Bobby out for being slow and unreliable for such a job. The meeting is set for 10:30pm that night with Donny, Teach and a third party named Fletch to break in to the buyer’s home and take back the coin and more if there are any.
Act II begins with Teach being late, and Fletch nowhere to be found. Only Bobby shows up with a lot on his mind. No spoiler alert here, but violence does ensue. This unraveling is what keeps the audience’s attention.
The redeeming grace of the evening is the solid work of the three actors, each giving stellar performances. As loathsome as Sam Rockwell’s character Teach is, his performance is as powerful as it is menacing. Having seen the original Teach, Robert Duvall in 1977, Al Pacino in 1983 and John Leguizamo in the disastrous 2008 revival (which only lasted for 20 previews and eight regular performances), Mr. Rockwell’s performance is by far the most nuanced and pulsating with seediness and rage.
Laurence Fishburne gives an equally stunning and riveting performance; the beauty here is the strength in his character as well as his protective feelings toward Bobby.
Darren Criss as Bobby is of course the least showy character in the play. However, Mr. Criss delves into Bobby to make him more than the simple character he is. There is a genuine desire to please his mentor, thus imbuing his character with humanity.
There are two more notable assets to the play. First, Scott Pask has created the best junk shop set devised for this play. It is a work of art. Second is the pulsating direction by Neil Pepe, for even in a moment of stillness, there is constant movement. Whether it is in the dialogue or the actors, something is always moving.
Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 22, 2022
Reviewed at April 21, 2022 press performance.
‘AMERICAN BUFFALO’: Darren Criss & Laurence Fishburne. Photo: Richard Termine.
‘AMERICAN BUFFALO’: Laurence Fishburne. Photo: Richard Termine.
‘AMERICAN BUFFALO’: Sam Rockwell. Photo: Richard Termine.
‘AMERICAN BUFFALO’: Darren Criss. Photo: Richard Termine.