Reviewed by Judd Hollander
Looking for that extra advantage to protect ones’ interests is at the heart of David Lindsay-Adaire’s new Broadway comedy The Balusters.
The East Coast community of Vernon Point consists of a historical district with Victorian homes on treelined streets, with stores, apartment buildings and other structures nearby. It’s close to the city but isolated enough to feel removed from it. Helping to maintain this feeling is the local Neighborhood Association, whose membership consists of a cross-section of races, genders, ages, and opinions. The organization’s long-time president is Elliot (Richard Thomas), a real estate broker and seemingly affable sort.
Hosting the latest monthly meeting is Kyra (Anika Noni Rose) an African American and newest member of the Association. Kyra, her husband and young children have recently arrived from Baltimore to start fresh, as it were. Having had a volatile experience as a Board member of the coop where she once lived, Kyra is mostly concerned with being able to fit into her new surroundings without causing any controversy.
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(L-R) Kayli Carter, Carl Clemons-Hopkins, Anika Noni Rose and Jeena Yi in MTC's The Balusters.
Photograph: Jeremy Daniel
In between discussions of disappearing packages, dog poop and the proper type of balusters (spindles) used in construction of stairs and railings, Kyra does suggest the installation of a traffic light for the crosswalk outside her home. After the formation of a committee to study the matter, learning the official difference between a speed bump and speed hump, and feeling the facts are on her side, Kyra begins to reach out online to the different residents in the community for their input, without first informing Elliot, who feels that such an inclusion will disturb the historical aesthetics of the neighborhood.
During subsequent meetings, as Eliott and Kyra warily circle one another, we begin to learn about what makes the rest of the Association members tick. At least one of whom owes their position to a sort of nepotism. In between casual conversations, caustic remarks, and politically incorrect comments – including a discussion of the terms “Latino,” “Latinx” and “Hispanic” – and the continual sharing of neighborhood gossip, it becomes apparent none of them is as fully transparent as they appear. Each supposedly trying to do the right thing for the community, but all take their own personal situations into account when making decisions. Be it the location of a traffic light, hiring people to work for them at less-than-optimal conditions, or not obeying certain rules – such as disposal of a certain type of refuse. Matters eventually culminate in an emotional showdown where everyone must choose a side while also being called to account for their actions.
Clockwise from Left: Ricardo Chavira, Carl Clemons-Hopkins, Richard Thomas, Anika Noni Rose, Jeena Yi, Marylouise Burke and Kayli Carter in MTC's The Balusters. Photograph: Jeremy Daniel
In addition to the play’s overall irony and one-liners that go off like firecrackers, Lindsay-Adaire also focuses on generational change. As when Elliot shows Kyra old photographs of the neighborhood, only for her to point out how all the people pictured are white. Elliot also undercuts Kyra’s traffic proposal by knocking on doors and talking directly to elderly homeowners who don’t use social media. Something Kyra apparently never considered when using Facebook.
Smartly directed by Kenny Leon, the entire cast plays off each other very well. Thomas works perfectly as a man who passionately believes he is doing the right thing in trying to keep the community together and that change need to be incremental and carefully thought out. However, his possessiveness has caused him to treat the neighborhood as his own personal fiefdom where his prejudices, particularly those concerning class distinction, eventually come to the fore.
Richard Thomas, Anika Noni Rose in MTC's The Balusters. Photograph: Jeremy Daniel
Noni Rose’s character is a perfect match for Elliot, a fresh face in the Association who starts out wanting no trouble with anyone, but who won’t will let herself be pushed around. Determined to pass her own agenda, even if that entails using insider information to do so, she ends up being perhaps the biggest hypocrite of all.
Also key to the story is Margaret Colin as Ruth, an ally of Elliot who initially seems just a bit too sure of herself when making comments others wouldn’t dare voice aloud. She also turns quite serious when delivering a heartfelt speech about how, when judging someone, it’s important to look at what they’ve done in their entirety, rather than a single incident.
Margaret Colin in MTC's The Balusters. Photograph: Jeremy Daniel
Another standout is Marylouise Burke as an elderly member of the Association who may initially seem slow on the uptake, but is sharper than she lets on. She also figures in a conversation concerning who is more at fault when it comes to wrong assumptions, the person who made the error or one who knows the truth but doesn’t correct it.
The only part of the play which doesn’t ring true, other than it feeling like a sitcom at times, is a climatic physical altercation that comes off as quite unnecessary and rather jarring. It’s also not in keeping with the character in question as we have come to know them.
Serving morality mixed with laughter, The Balusters looks at imperfect people trying to make decisions for the many while not always believing the rules apply to everyone.
Featuring: Marylouise Burke (Penny Buell), Kayli Carter
(Willow Gibbons), Ricardo Chavira (Isaac Rosario), Carl Clemons-Hopkins (Brooks
Duncan), Margaret Colin (Ruth Ackerman), Michael Esper (Alan Kirby),
Maria-Christina Oliveras (Luz Baccay), Anika Noni Rose (Krya Marshall), Richard
Thomas (Eliott Emerson), Jeena Yi (Melissa Han)
The Balusters
Scenic Design: Derek McLane
Costume Design: Emilio Sosa
Lighting Design: Allen Lee Hughes
Original Music & Sound Design: Dan Moses Schreier
Hair, Wig & Make-up Design: J. Jared Janas
Fight Direction: Thomas Schall
Vocal Coach: Deborah Hecht
Movement & Associate Director: Ioana Alfonso
Casting: Caparelliotis Casting/Kelly Gillespie
Production Stage Manager: Tripp Phillps
Stage Manager: Janette Braggs
Directed by Kenny Leon
Presented by The Manhattan Theatre Club at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
261 West 47th Street, New York City
Tickets: www.manhattantheatreclub.com
Running time: 1 hour 55 minutes, no
intermission
Closes: June 21, 2026
