THE BALUSTERS
By David Lindsay-Abaire
Directed by Kenny Leon
Presented by Manhattan Theatre Club
Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
261 West 47th Street
Spring 2026
Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC)—Lynne Meadow, Artistic Director and Chris Jennings, Executive Director—is pleased to announce initial casting for the world premiere of The Balusters, by Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winner David Lindsay-Abaire (Rabbit Hole and Kimberly Akimbo at MTC), directed by Tony Award winner Kenny Leon (King James at MTC, A Raisin in the Sun). The production will open in Spring 2026 on Broadway at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 West 47th Street).
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.
The Balusters will feature Drama Desk Award winner Marylouise Burke (Broadway: True West, Fish in the Dark; Off-Broadway: David Lindsay-Abaire’s Fuddy Meers, Wonder of the World, Kimberly Akimbo, Ripcord at MTC; TV: “Ozark”) as Penny Bewell, Emmy Award nominee Carl Clemons-Hopkins (TV: “Hacks,” Film: Candyman, Off-Broadway: Lessons in Survival) as Brooks Duncan, Drama Desk Award nominee Margaret Colin (Broadway: Carousel, The Columnist at MTC; TV: “Veep,” “Gossip Girl”) as Ruth Ackerman, Tony and Grammy Award winner Renée Elise Goldsberry (Broadway: Hamilton, Good People at MTC; TV: “Girls5Eva”) as Kyra Marshall, and Emmy Award winner Richard Thomas (Broadway: Our Town, You Can’t Take It With You, Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes at MTC; TV: “The Waltons,” “The Americans,” “It”) as Elliott Emerson, with more to be announced.
David Lindsay-Abaire’s previous work at MTC has included the Pulitzer Prize-winning Rabbit Hole, the Tony Award-nominated Good People, Ripcord, Wonder of the World, Fuddy Meers, and Kimberly Akimbo, which he later adapted with Jeanine Tesori into the Tony Award-winning musical.
Kenny Leon, whose Broadway credits include A Raisin in the Sun (Tony Award), Fences, Topdog/Underdog, Purlie Victorious, Our Town and Othello, returns to MTC, where he previously directed Rajiv Joseph’s King James in 2023.