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Review: In ‘The Balusters’ on Broadway, a mighty contest rises from porch railings
A Black newcomer’s safety push for a stop sign exposes prejudice and power struggles inside a 10-member homeowners association.
- Playwright David Lindsay-Abaire's new ensemble comedy, The Balusters, opened Tuesday at Manhattan Theatre Club's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, directed by Kenny Leon.
- Set in the historic Vernon Point, the plot follows newcomer Kyra Marshall, played by Anika Noni Rose, as she clashes with long-time association president Elliot Emerson, portrayed by Richard Thomas, over installing a stop sign.
- Beyond the central conflict, the 10-person ensemble navigates petty skirmishes involving "the dog-poop situation" and "porch pirates," exposing the hypocrisies of members whose self-interests are carefully concealed.
- Lindsay-Abaire's 105-minute one-act comedy draws comparisons to Jonathan Spector's Eureka Day and Tracy Letts' August: Osage County, arguing that polite exteriors mask the horrific treatment of fellow human beings.
- "The worst thing that happened to the country was the best thing to happen to this play," Lindsay-Abaire remarked, noting that for him, comedy and tragedy remain closely linked as a vital coping mechanism.
12 Articles
12 Articles
David Lindsay-Abaire Risked Enraging His Neighbors With His New Play. It Was Worth It
The Pulitzer Prize– and Tony Award–winning playwright is used to writing toward fear, but his latest work fostered its own breed of anxiety. “Am I scared? Sure, I’m scared,” Lindsay-Abaire told Vogue ahead of its opening night. “This is 10 people discussing porches.”
'The Balusters' Broadway Review: A New Play Covers Almost All the Diversity Bases
It would be interesting to see the chart of characters that David Lindsay-Abaire had to use to write his new play, “The Balusters,” which opened Tuesday at MTC’s Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. By today’s standards, its cast of 10 is large, but even then, while all three races are represented, a few ethnic groups, as well as a few letters of the ever-expanding LGBTQ+ minority, have been left out. In the play’s sequel, Lindsay-Abaire might want to re…
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