Gruesome Playground Injuries Tickets

Gruesome Playground Injuries in New York City!

Gruesome Playground Injuries, the bitingly witty, brutally honest play from Pulitzer finalist Ravij Joseph, returns to New York! Starring Succession's Nicholas Braun and Tony winner Kara Young, Gruesome Playground Injuries comes to the Lucille Lortel Theatre in the vibrant heart of Greenwich Village, for a strictly limited run. You won't want to miss this “wondrous two-hander that finds as much humor as horror” (Variety) about the budding romance between two accident-prone, emotionally damaged friends. Missing out will hurt - so secure your tickets today! 

What is the play Gruesome Playground Injuries about? 

When childhood friends Kayleen and Doug meet for the first time they are both sick or injured - she has a stomach ache, while he has driven his bike off the roof of the school. This childhood meeting sets the tone for the rest of their friendship, as over three decades the two are drawn together through illness injury, and accidents. As the two meet again and again in hospital beds, urgent care and the school nurses office, they must discover how to love when you’re emotionally, and physically, wounded. Can they put together the fractured pieces of their selves long enough to form a relationship?

Gruesome Playgrounds Injuries is an innovative and darkly comic play, following these two troubled souls and their struggles to connect in a non-linear format. The play premiered at the Alley Theatre, Houston Texas in 2009 starring Selma Blair and Brad Fleischer. Another production was mounted in Washington DC in 2010 before the play had its Off-Broadway premiere in 2011 at the Second Stage Theatre. Gruesome Playground Injuries returns to New York for the first time in over a decade for a strictly limited run - secure your tickets today. 

Who are the cast of Gruesome Playground Injuries? 

Nicholas Braun and Kara Young star as Doug and Kayleen.

Nicholas Braun is an Emmy-nominated, SAG award-winning actor, best known for his role as Cousin Greg in HBO’s critically acclaimed series Succession. His other credits include The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Cat Person, How to Be Single and Zola.

Kara Young is a Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle Award, and Obie Award-winning actor. She made history in 2025 as the first Black actress to be Tony-nominated four years in a row (from 2022-2025) as Best Featured Actress in a Play, and as the first Black actress to win two consecutive Tonys. Her credits include Purpose, Purlie Victorious, I’m a Virgo for Amazon Prime and Netflix’s The Punisher. 

Who are the creative team of Gruesome Playground Injuries? 

Gruesome Playground Injuries is written by Pulitzer Prize finalist Rajiv Joseph. Joseph is best known for his play Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, which starred Robin Williams when it premiered on Broadway in 2010. Joseph’s other work includes Animals Out of Paper, The Leopard and the Fox, Guards at the Taj, Nurse Jackie for Showtime, and Describe the Night. He is an Obie winner and a Lucille Lortel nominee.

The production is directed by Tony nominee Neil Pepe. Pepe is a Tony-nominated director and the artistic director of the Atlantic Theatre Company. His credits include American Buffalo, Hands on a Hardbody, Speed-the-Plow, and The Beginning of August.

Tickets for Gruesome Playground Injuries at the Lortel Theatre!

Pulitzer finalist Rajiv Joseph’s “unique voice shines through”(Hollywood Reporter) in this blackly comic, “disquieting two-hander” (Hollywood Reporter) starring Succession's Nicholas Braun and Two-time Tony winner Kara Young. This hilarious and heartbreaking “anti-rom com” (Guardian) comes to New York City for a strictly limited run. Missing out will be truly gruesome - so rip off the band aid and book your tickets for Gruesome Playground Injuries at the Lucille Lortel Theatre today!