BWW Reviews: R-S Theatrics Painful and Painfully Funny Production of GRUESOME PLAYGROUND INJURIES

There's something very funny, yet very sad about the two characters in Rajiv Joseph's bittersweet work Gruesome Playground Injuries. They're both damaged goods in one way or another, and we desperately want them to make a real love connection since they truly seem oddly suited for one another. And yet, there's a poignancy to the fact that won't ever progress past the point where they began at age 8. R-S Theatrics is presenting this unusual play, and it's made even more interesting by the fact that a real life husband and wife play the two characters that keep our attention for about an hour and a half.

Kayleen and Doug are always meeting under the most unusual of circumstances, and usually in the oddest of places, such as a school infirmary, a hospital, a mental ward, and a funeral home. Doug is prone to undergoing the most horrific of accidents (hence the title of this work), but Kayleen is just as damaged, although in most cases, hers is of the internal or unseen variety. Each of their scenes is announced by an odd title written on a greaseboard, such as "13 Limbo" or "28 Tuesday", marking their age at the time, and often the injury, the date, or the cause of the problem that is bringing them together again. Doug is a sort of crazy-minded daredevil, forever getting mixed up in situations that bring about bodily harm, and the sensitive-stomached Kayleen seems to have a power to heal his infirmaries. One would think they were destined for one another, but the timing is, frustratingly, always just a bit off.

Christina Rios is a sad delight as Kayleen, inflicting pain upon herself in much the same way that Mark Kelley's Doug seems to be showing off like a little kid forever in need of attention. Kelley's occupation is particularly amusing once it's revealed during one of the scenes. Both find the humor and heart at the center of this disturbing, but compelling material. By the time either realize the importance of one another to each other, it appears to be too late to do anything about it, and that's a real shame. But, people are often drawn, misguidedly, to other paths in life that take them away from a possible shot at happiness, and that aspect rings true.

Rios and Randy Stinebaker do fine work co-directing this production, and since it could easily just slide over the top under lesser guidance, they deserve kudos for their restraint. Meg Brinkley also merits mention for the simple and effective props that set each scene and color each character.

Gruesome Playground Injuries is often painfully funny to watch, and sometimes just painful, but always engaging. The R-S Theatrics productions continues in the Crestwood ArtSpace inside Soundstage Productions Theater.

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