A pair of two-character shows with differing depictions of amorous connections have recently opened on and Off-Broadway. One is a charming rom-com musical replete with cliches and plot-holes you could drive a truck through. Despite these flaws, Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) is an engaging and lighthearted romp, perfect for holiday fun. Strangers arrives on Broadway after runs in London and the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Mass. The other Off-Broadway offering, Rajiv Joseph’s Gruesome Playground Injuries, has no songs, is much darker, complex and more honest in its portrayal of the dysfunctional relationship of two accident-prone outsiders who come in and out of each others’ lives from elementary school to young adulthood.
Sam Tutty and Christiani Pitts in
Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York).
Credit: Matthew Murphy
The elaborately titled Two Strangers takes the basic romcom trope of two previously unacquainted, dissimilar characters meeting in a tense situation, running into conflict and then into each others’ arms. There’s shopping, sightseeing, sex, heartbreak, and an ambiguous resolution. Luckily, Jim Barne and Kit Buchan’s songs and dialogue are snappy and cute enough to overcome the overly familiar story arcs. Tim Jackson’s slick and smooth direction and choreography works perfectly on Sutra Gilmour’s versatile revolving set, employing set pieces in the shape of luggage of varying sizes to suggest multiple scenes in Gotham.
Sam Tutty and Christiani Pitts are bubbly, bright, and multifaceted as the mismatched pair. Tutt exudes boyish enthusiasm and gleeful hopefulness as Dougal, a lonely British bachelor in New York for the first time to attend the wedding of his estranged dad. Pitts is the somewhat depressed Robin, the sister of the bride (much younger than the groom), who has been tasked with shepherding Dougal and performing a million ceremony-related chores including transport of the titular gateau from Flatbush, Brooklyn to Manhattan. Of course, Dougal’s puppyish eagerness and excitement for the Big Apple at first grates against Robin’s cynical veneer, but they eventually wind up canoodling. Several secrets involving ruptured family relationships for the two are gradually revealed, but too many loose threads are left dangling by the end of their brief time together. 
Sam Tutty and Christiani Pitts in
Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York).
Credit: Matthew Murphy
Several of Barne and Buchan’s songs, cutely staged by Jackson and endearingly performed by Tutty and Pitts, more than make up for these defects. “Under the Mistletoe” is a clever parody of countless Christmas duets from decades past, particularly Frank Loesser’s “Baby It’s Cold Outside,” featuring cringeworthy sexual elements. “American Express” is a fun frolic with Douglas and Robin rampaging through expensive shops, restaurants and hotels before crashing at the Plaza. “Dad” expresses Dougal’s fantasies about bonding with his distant parent and “What’ll It Be” chronicles Robin’s directionless paths in love and life as she mechanically serves customers as a server at a coffee shop. The two actors beautifully balance comedy and pathos, displaying Dougal and Robin’s vulnerabilities and impressive pipes. There’s plenty to relish with these Two Strangers.
While Two Strangers follows a familiar amorous template, Rajiv Joseph (also currently represented Off-Broadway by Archduke) takes a decidedly non-romantic approach to the two-hander format with his Gruesome Playground Injuries, now in a bleakly funny revival at the Lucille Lortel, directed with equal attention to laughs and tears by Neil Pepe. Originally produced Off-Broadway by Second Stage in 2011, Joseph’s sharply observed script skips back and forth through time in the roller-coaster relationship between Dougie and Kayleen, chronicling their encounters after numerous accidents. Doug is more than accident prone, given to climbing telephone poles in rain storms, shooting off fireworks at close range, and riding his bicycle off the school roof. Kayleen smothers her insecurities with self-harm, indulging in cutting herself, alcoholism and meaningless sex. 
Nicholas Braun and Kara Young in
Gruesome Playground Injuries.
Credit: Emilio Madrid
The pair come in and out of each other’s life, usually after serious injuries, and just miss connecting. From their first meeting in the nurse’s office in grade school, Doug believes Kayleen's touch will heal him, but she resists his pleas for affection.
Like the stars of Two Strangers, Playground’s two-person cast juggles outrageous humor with heartbreaking pathos. Nicholas Braun of Succession and two-time Tony winner Kara Young endow Doug and Kayleen with a vibrant physical life, throwing themselves around Arnuldo Maldonado’s stark hospital-like set making their numerous collisions and smash-ups totally creditable. Brian Strumwasser’s makeup design deserves mention for the realistic deception of their scars and bruises as do Sarah Lux's costumes which suggest the different stages in the characters' lives. Young is especially moving as the damaged Kayleen, covering her soft center with a bristly exterior. Injuries is a sort of a reverse romantic comedy and a more devastating, but ultimately more honest experience than Two Strangers. 
Nicholas Braun and Kara Young in
Gruesome Playground Injuries.
Credit: Emilio Madrid
Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York): Opened Nov. 20 for an open run. Longacre Theater, 220 W. 48th St., NYC. Running time: two hours and 20 mins. including intermission. telecharge.com
Gruesome Playground Injuries: Nov. 23—Dec. 28. Lucille Lortel Theater, 121 Christopher St., NYC. Running time: 90 mins. with no intermission. gruesomeplaygroundinjuries.com.
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