Anybody have opinions on Gruesome Playground Injuries, A Small Fire, or the new Adam Rapp trilogy?

[April Saul]

Posted: 1/14/11 at 9:19pm

Would love to hear anything about these, I usually get my off-B'way reviews from ATC but that ain't happening any time soon!

[jv92]

Posted: 1/14/11 at 9:35pm

I'm seeing Gruesome Playground Injuries tomorrow, so I'll let you know.

[KChenowethfan]

Posted: 1/14/11 at 9:55pm

I didn't see Gruesome Playground Injuries at Second Stage, but I did see the premiere of the play at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in DC last year. So, although I can't comment on the Second Stage production, I will say that I found the script lacked focus. I also thought it was rather trite and vulgar when it didn't need to be that way. I expected more from the playwright and was disappointed. Woolly's production did nothing to help matters.

[joeyvalcort]

Posted: 1/14/11 at 10:49pm

I saw A Small Fire, and liked it quite a bit. Some funny parts, a story that stayed with me, great performances. Also, saw it very early in previews, and I know that PH is a pretty nurturing environment for writers/directors/performers so have no doubt the show marinated well.

[The Other One]

Posted: 1/15/11 at 12:17am

Gruesome Playground Injuries is not good at all. No character development, general behavior to suggest changes in age, many uncomfortable moments with no pay-off. It's short but it feels endless. I can't imagine it going over well with anyone.

[willep]

Posted: 1/15/11 at 12:54am

^ sounds like Beirut over at Theatre Row.

[lightguy06222]

Posted: 1/15/11 at 1:42am

I enjoyed it very much. Was very surprised by Jennifer Carpenters performance.

[The Other One]

Posted: 1/15/11 at 6:15am

^ I did not care for her (Schreiber is quite good), but the problem is the play itself.

Updated On: 1/15/11 at 06:15 AM

[bjh2114]

Posted: 1/15/11 at 7:27am

Pablo is wonderful in Gruesome Playground Injuries. He's absolutely believable at all ages. Jennifer Carpenter... not so much. While I didn't LOVE the show and would have liked there to have been a little more substance, the dialogue was good. It's clear that Rajiv has a knack for writing, but I don't think this play really shows the full extent of his talent.

I thought A Small Fire was dreadful. I know the critics loved it, but I found it overly saccharine and so stereotypical. I found my mind wandering throughout. The actors are all great, but I thought the play was a huge misstep by Adam Bock.

The Hallway Trilogy by Rapp hasn't started yet.

[After Eight]

Posted: 1/15/11 at 9:07am

I wouldn't say that "Gruesome Playground Injuries" was just horrible. No, it was just HORRIBLE! Writing, abysmal, acting and direction, poor. I disliked the author's previous play, but this was a considerable step down from that.

Why is a play like this given a professional production?

HOR-RI-BLE!

[April Saul]

Posted: 1/15/11 at 9:32am

Thanks for the comments! I live 90 miles from NYC and was actually thinking of trekking up there for Fire or Gruesome Injuries this weekend and now am deciding to wait for a more pressing reason to make the trip...or at least for Small Fire to re-surface on TDF or Gruesome Injuries to show up again on my Gold Club. My first thought on finding out about yet another trilogy waa oh no, three more trips to the city for one playwright's idea? Guess I'll see what the buzz is on that one...

[InfiniteTheaterFrenzy]

Posted: 1/15/11 at 1:59pm

I really enjoyed Gruesome Playground Injuries. I thought the story was compelling, and I was really invested in the characters because the out-of-chronology structure was so well done. Pablo Schrieber was excellent. I'd recommend it highly.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 1/15/11 at 2:07pm

I liked A Small Fire quite a bit. Bock is one of my favorite "new," as it were, writers. I didn't love this as much as my favorite play of his, but found it capable of quite an emotional hook. I thought the end was a little unsatisfying, but I know a lot of people feel exactly the opposite way about it. The last scene is well-done, but I thought that what it seemed to be "saying" was a little trite, when I didn't think the play was at all.

[jv92]

Posted: 1/15/11 at 6:33pm

I guess I'm in the minority of those who really liked Gruesome Playground Injuries. I saw the matinee today at Second Stage and found it interesting, well-written and fairly well acted. It was compelling and held my interest. If it had gone over 80 minutes, say to two hours and ten, I may have went berserk, but for an 80 minute, two person play, by a new talent, it was quite good. I look forward to Rajiv Joseph's upcoming projects.

I would have seen A Small Fire, but it sold out before I could get a ticket. I'm glad I saw Gruesome Playground Injuries though. It sort of struck a chord with me and I liked it.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 1/15/11 at 6:51pm

Rajiv's "Animals Out of Paper" is one of my favorite plays, and one of the best things to come out of Second Stage's Uptown series in the years I've been attending their shows. For those who don't know it, it's recently been published, and I highly recommend reading it, though I will give the caveat that it doesn't read nearly as well as it performed. But still, a really lovely play.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 1/15/11 at 8:24pm

I didn't care for "A Small Fire." To me it was just trying too hard to make me feel something, when I wasn't emotionally attached to the material at all. I just didn't get on board with Pawk's character in the beginning. I just didn't care for her too much. And I felt like a lot of dialogue was said, but nothing was actually SAID. The daughter was just whiny and just kept saying the same sort of idea over and over again. The husband - while a great actor - was just kind of a pushover. Their big "wedding" scene, which most of the critics have pointed out, was very well-acted, but just didn't pull my heartstrings the way other things have. I don't know, just not my cup of tea.

However, I do recommend the movie "Rabbit Hole."

[HummingAlong]

Posted: 1/15/11 at 11:10pm

I just saw Gruesome Playground Injuries tonight. I am still processing it and trying to figure out what the show was really trying to say. Here's what I think so far - the good, bad, and the ugly:

Because of the nature of the show (bouncing around from age to age and injury to injury) it lacked the continuity and flow necessary for me to really connect with the characters. As the show progressed, both characters shared deep, intimate moments with the audience and I knew these were things that I should be feeling for, but I just didn't feel connected. For me, this had to do with both the acting and the writing.
Both actors seemed very aware that they were onstage, and their performances tended to feel unnatural, although their comedic moments came across well. But nothing felt very real. In a show like this one, I think it's best when it feels so real that the audience almost feels uncomfortable watching the struggles of these people unfold in front of them. But I just felt like a disconnected audience member in my squishy 2econd Stage chair...
And then, the level of discomfort in the theatre should take us to new levels - we should reach collective (AND individual) realizations about life and the world around us, or the discomfort of watching people we love suffer has been in vain. And for that reason, Joseph falls flat for me.

I LOVED the staging of the show. The set design was great, there were really interesting transitions, and the way the audience is situated in the theatre was stimulating. Hey, sometimes it's the little things that count.

There are interesting things to ponder following this show, including how we hurt people, how we wonder about people's pain, how we heal the ones we love, how we heal the ones we hurt, and how we support people we know are in pain. You'll hear "does it hurt?" and "you're stupid" about 100 times (no joke) in the 80 minute show, and I'd love to delve deeper into the psychology of those lines. I know they're central to the idea of the show, but I'm trying to tie them together a bit more. Because, honestly, the show ended a bit abruptly for me, and I'm wondering what sort of greater realization it could have come to...

All in all, if you can get cheap tickets (I did this on student rush, and I'm glad I didn't spend more than $20) I'd go for it. There's a lot to think about, and it also offers the opportunity to juxtapose other shows and figure out what it is about other shows that make them great. It's a worthwhile experience, it will just leave you digging for some meaning. I guess this mirrors life. I wonder if sometimes we look to entertainment for concrete answers, not for more questions. This is not the show for that.

[OtherDaryl]

Posted: 1/16/11 at 8:13am

I've read Gruesome Playground Injuries, not seen it and liked the writing very much.

[April Saul]

Posted: 1/23/11 at 12:31pm

Hey guys--I'm the one who started this thread, and I caught Gruesome Playground Injuries last night. Wow, I like it an awful lot! I thought the performances by Pablo Schreiber and Jennifer Carpenter as two best friends whose psychological issues manifest themselves in physical pain and desperately need to heal each other were terrific. Still hope to catch A Small Fire before it closes end of this week, but not sure I want to pay upwards of $50. Would still love any buzz about Adam Rapp's new trilogy...

[willep]

Posted: 1/23/11 at 3:18pm

I quite liked Gruesome Playground Injuries. I thought the performances were great, the staging and set were very cool. It wasn't my favorite play, but still enjoyable.

[bjh2114]

Posted: 1/23/11 at 11:52pm

Hallway Trilogy still hasn't started yet. It begins performances on Tuesday.

[April Saul]

Posted: 1/23/11 at 11:54pm

I know, I was hoping for buzz, or I'll bump the thread and hope for some comments this week. It sounds pretty intriguing, actually...

[bjh2114]

Posted: 1/24/11 at 12:03am

I don't know too many off-Broadway productions that have pre-preview buzz unless they have had productions elsewhere first. I believe this is the world premier.

Also, I was mistaken (or rather the Playbill listing was). The show begins February 6th.

[jv92]

Posted: 1/24/11 at 4:28pm

Glad you liked Gruesome Playground Injuries, April. I thought for 80 minutes, it was quite good. Again, if it had gone to two hours or longer, I may have went nuts. But I still liked it.

[#1Elphie]

Posted: 1/24/11 at 9:23pm

Wow, very mixed reviews here for Gruesome Playground Injuries. I've enjoyed reading them all and I'm interested to see it later this week.

I really liked A Small Fire.