Sara Rae Foster and Jeff Ward in “Gruesome Playground Injuries” (Photo – Ed Krieger).
What is the path we take to find love in a harsh world?
By Carol Edger Germain
Colleen Camp Productions and CRAZYface Productions present a fresh new production of Gruesome Playground Injuries, directed by John Hindman and starring Sara Rae Foster (Showtime’s Masters of Sex) as Kayleen and Jeff Ward (Lifetime’s Manson’s Lost Girls) as Doug. Rajiv Joseph’s poignant and darkly comic tale about love, pain and friendship is playing at the Hudson Backstage in Hollywood through June 26.
The story is uniquely staged, with only two characters and minimal props representing various medical sites from an elementary school nurse’s office to a hospital to a psychiatric ward. The set design by JR Bruce; lighting design by Leigh Allen; costume design by A. Jeffrey Schoenberg (with costume changes taking place in a shadowing space right on stage), property design by Lily Bartenstein, movement/choreography by Sarah McCarron, and graphic design by Iris Azadi, all coordinated by stage manager Alyssa Escalante and produced by Leigh Fortier, come together smoothly and creatively to present for our consideration a glimpse into the tragedies, triumphs, pain and pleasure of two friends who meet in the nurse’s office at age 8 and stay connected, although sporadically, frustratingly, and somewhat contentiously, but always empathetically, through adulthood.
“Gruesome Playground Injuries” at Hudson Backstage Theatre (Photo – Ed Krieger).
The life travels of these two are not smooth, and their lack of mental and spiritual growth as they mature physically is one of the fascinating but aggravating threads of the play. The audience is rooting for better things for their lives because their extreme sensitivity and lack of malice draws you to them and makes you anticipate their next meeting. Yes, you can use the proverbial term “train wreck” to describe their lives and intermittent catch-up interactions, but it’s more like Life is doing the “Apache Dance” on them as painted by Van Gogh. Although there are some chuckles as Doug’s daredevil lust for life and physical adventure result in a growing list of injuries and loss of body parts, and Kayleen’s wit brings ironic smiles, the story is much deeper and more intricate as their push-and-pull friendship of three decades brings them together repeatedly, with either Doug’s physical injuries or Kayleen’s family tragedies or psychological trauma being the catalyst.
Doug and Kayleen’s situations give the audience plenty of opportunities to connect and relate to the issues that appear throughout their lives, and it’s easy to get absorbed in their chapters as your own memories insist on creeping in and saying “remember when you……..” as you watch the saga unfold.
Leave a Reply