Rajiv Joseph gets "Gruesome"

It's quite the start of a year for Playwrights Foundation alumnus, Rajiv Joseph.  Now we all know about his Broadway debut and Pulitzer finalist Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, but we cannot forget his other works!  Currently running at the Second Stage Theatre, also in lovely New York City, is Gruesome Playground Injuries, a play where two lovers compare their lives in the form of their physical scars.  Playbill.com has the scoop:

Courtesy of Second Stage Theatre

In the case of Gruesome Playground Injuries, now playing at New York City's Second Stage Theatre, Joseph came up with the title before the story had taken shape. "I was having drinks with an old friend of mine," recalls the playwright, who recently had Gruesome produced at Houston's Alley Theatre and at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre in Washington, DC. "He was telling me stories about the many bizarre mishaps that have left scars all over his body, and I realized that if you were like him, you could mark the chapters of your life with injuries. As soon as he got up to get us more drinks, I took out a piece of paper and wrote down the title of the play."

Read the rest, get to know the playwright, and go out and see Gruesome Playground Injuries before it leaves, if you're in the area!  Don't forget Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo opens in March with Robin Williams in the eponymous role, and will be THE play to see this year.