Photos: Nicholas Braun & Kara Young Star in Gruesome Playground Injuries

Pulitzer Prize Finalist Rajiv Joseph’s Gruesome Playground Injuries will return to the New York stage in a new production starring three-time Emmy Award nominee Nicholas Braun and two-time Tony Award winner Kara Young, and directed by Tony Award Nominee Neil Pepe. 

Gruesome Playground Injuries will begin performances off-Broadway at the Lucille Lortel Theatre on Friday, November 7 for a limited run through Sunday, December 28.

Over the course of 30 years, the lives of Kayleen and Doug intersect at the most bizarre intervals, leading the two childhood friends to compare scars and the physical calamities that keep drawing them together.

Watch as the duo explains what the play is all about and check out portraits of them as Kayleen and Doug below.

2026 Theater Fans' Choice Awards - Live Stats

Best Direction of a Musical - Top 3

1. Michael Arden - The Lost Boys

33.5% of votes

2. Tim Jackson - Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)

15.6% of votes

3. Lear deBessonet - Ragtime

10.3% of votes

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