Photos: Step Inside the Rehearsal Room for Broadway's The Balusters

Anika Noni Rose, Carl Clemons-Hopkins, and more will star in the new work from David Lindsay-Abaire, beginning March 31 at the Friedman.

March 24, 2026 By Logan Culwell-Block

Get a peek from inside the rehearsal room for Manhattan Theatre Club's upcoming Broadway world premiere of David Lindsay-Abaire's The Balusters, due to begin at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre March 31 ahead of an April 21 opening night. Tony winner Kenny Leon is at the helm.

The cast includes Marylouise Burke (True West) as Penny Bewell, Carl Clemons-Hopkins (Hacks) as Brooks Duncan, Margaret Colin (Carousel) as Ruth Ackerman, Richard Thomas (Our Town) as Elliott Emerson, Kayli Carter (This World of Tomorrow) as Willow Gibbons, Ricardo Chavira (Ballard) as Isaac Rosario, Michael Esper (Appropriate) as Alan Kirby, Maria-Christina Oliveras (Between Riverside and Crazy) as Luz Baccay, Anika Noni Rose (Dreamgirls) as Kyra Marshall, and Jeena Yi (Network) as Melissa Han. Casting is by Caparelliotis Casting's Kelly Gillespie.

Photos: The Balusters in Rehearsal

This MTC commission centers on a small-town neighborhood association experiencing some big drama—namely, the concept of installing a new stop sign on the neighborhood's most bucolic block.

The production will feature scenic design by Derek McLane, costume design by Emilio Sosa, lighting design by Allen Lee Hughes, original music and sound design by Dan Moses Schreier, fight direction by Thomas Schall, and vocal coaching by Deborah Hecht. Tripp Phillips will be production stage manager.