Review: GRUESOME PLAYGROUND INJURIES at Iowa Stage Theatre Company

Love hurts, and for some couples, that's the point. 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.

Iowa Stage explores new terrain in their fifth production of the 2018-19 season, "Gruesome Playground Injuries" which opened this past weekend at the Kum & Go Theatre in Des Moines.

It's not your typical love story: the play details the strange, yearning, and ambivalent relationship between two people who first meet at the age of eight in the school nurse's office: Kayleen has stomach problems, and Doug is all banged up from playing Evil Knievel and running his bike off the roof. The thread running through their relationship and binding these scar-crossed lovers is centered around injury, hurt, and a tentative whisper of the possibility of healing. With great compassion and humor, playwright Rajiv Joseph crafts a compelling and unconventional love story about the intimacy between two people when they allow their defenses to drop and their wounds to show.

As a daredevil and adrenaline junkie, Doug showcases a powerful, self-destructive streak that has him picking fights, climbing up telephone poles, and standing on a roof in the middle of a raging thunderstorm.

Kayleen's health problems are brooding and psychological; she has stomachaches and cuts herself. As the play unfolds, we learn a few ambiguous facts about her background. At the storyline develops, it becomes apparent that Doug loves Kayleen and Kayleen loves Doug, but they never manage to love each other at quite the same time.

The production, directed by Jodi Jinks, is clean and tight, with interesting music, and scene changes that are creatively orchestrated. The action unfolds in a series of brief and non-sequential scenes. We see the actors as young children, as teenagers, as young adults, as teens again, and as more mature adults. Casey Gradischnig, scenic/sound and video designer shares a visual timeline of the script to allow the audience the opportunity to tell placement of time and to see the play's structure unfold.

Maggie Jane and Michael Ladell Harris bring a unique chemistry to their lead roles of Gruesome Playground Injuries. Married in real life, this pair brings an additional layer of insight to the story of Doug and Kayleen, as they continue to find each other through three decades of trauma, surprise and love.

Maggie Jane has a keen ability to conjure a full-fledged character as Kayleen, one with her own natural cadence, movement, and expression, which easily captivates the audience.

Equally believable and quite endearing in his role is Michael's characterization of "accident-prone" Doug. Both actors excel at nuanced interpretation and comic timing.

The challenge with a two-person play is how to get it "just right." Having only one other person to respond to and create a relationship with can feel like the actors are sprinting through a marathon. But when a two-person play is done right, as in the opening night at Iowa Stage Theatre company's production, sparks could be felt between these characters, creating a forcefield of intimacy that moved throughout the entire 90-minute run.

The set, costumes and lighting of "Gruesome Playground Injuries" had a hauntingly antiseptic look, which made sense since the characters spent so much of their time in hospitals. The metamorphosis of Kayleen and Doug between scenes was uniquely achieved in full view of the audience, as the performers changed clothes and applied their simulated wounds.

These visible transformations underlie the play's most intriguing aspect: Kayleen and Doug are compelled to act out their bruising fates by forces they never question or understand. "Gruesome Playground Injuries" plays on the same romantic appeal of self-destruction and a fatalism regarding the basic human urge to hurt.

Iowa Stage Theatre Company's mission is to transform Iowa, its citizens, and arts community by producing truthful, relevant, and intimate theatre that inspires, enlightens and entertains.

What's next? Iowa Stage Theatre company will be performing Ayad Akhtar's Pulitzer Prize winning "Disgraced" May 10-19, 2019 at the Kum & Go Theatre in Des Moines as well as Shakespeare on the Lawn at Salisbury House, presenting the murderous, magical Macbeth June 12-16, 2019

They have also announced their upcoming 2019-20 season, which includes:

- "A Doll's House" by Henrik Ibsen and "A Doll's House Part 2" by Lucas Hnanth, performed in rep Sept. 27 - Oct. 13, 2019

- "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens, Dec 13-22, 2019

- "Adore Us! Line" by Robert John Ford, Jan 24-Feb 2, 2020

- "The Cake" by Bekkah Brunstetter, Mar 27-Apr 5, 2020

- "Sweat," by Lynn Nottage, May 15-24, 2020

- "Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare as a Shakespeare on the Lawn production in partnership with Salisbury House and Gardens, June 2020.

To learn more, check out https://www.iowastage.org/

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