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Rehearsals are officially underway for Manhattan Theatre Club’s world premiere of The Balusters, a new play by Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winner David Lindsay-Abaire, directed by Tony Award winner Kenny Leon. Check out photos of the cast in rehearsals below!
Previews will begin Tuesday, March 31, 2026, with an opening night on Tuesday, April 21, 2026 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre.
The Balusters features Drama Desk Award winner Marylouise Burke as Penny Buell; Kayli Carter as Willow Gibbons; Ricardo Chavira as Isaac Rosario; Emmy Award nominee Carl Clemons-Hopkins as Brooks Duncan; Drama Desk Award nominee Margaret Colin as Ruth Ackerman; Michael Esper as Alan Kirby; Maria-Christina Oliveras as Luz Baccay; Tony Award winner Anika Noni Rose as Kyra Marshall; Emmy Award winner Richard Thomas as Elliott Emerson, and Jeena Yi as Melissa Han.
The Balusters is a raucous, wild ride through a small community with big feelings. The Vernon Point Neighborhood Association is a passionate bunch, whether squabbling over historically inaccurate porch railings or debating trash can protocol. Still, no one is prepared for the neighbor-versus-neighbor battle royale that ensues when a newcomer to the board suggests the unthinkable: installing a stop sign on the corner of the enclave’s prettiest block.
The Balusters was commissioned by MTC through the Bank of America New Play Program and is a recipient of an Edgerton Foundation New Play Award. Production support is provided by The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, the Laurents/Hatcher Foundation, the Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater, and Jayne Baron Sherman and MTC Young Producing Partners.
