*** The Balusters
It’s a virulent day in this neighborhood ...
Kayli Carter, Anika Noni Rose, Margaret Colin, Ricardo Chavira, Carl Clemons-Hopkins, Jeena Yi, Maria-Christina Oliveras, Michael Esper, and Richard Thomas.
Photo: Jeremy Daniel
A lot less heart-tugging than Kimberly Akimbo (play or musical) or Rabbit Hole, David Lindsay-Abaire’s latest work ventures into the lion’s den that is community organizing: Think Eureka Day, only relocated to a bougie, relatively bucolic corner of Brooklyn, where the question of adding a traffic light – for pedestrian safety’s sake – sets off a battle royal within a committee of supposed peers who presumably share values.
Agatha Christie couldn’t have – wouldn’t have – sketched out a spectrum of personality types more succinctly, though she would no doubt have left more room for a bit of mystery.
Kyra Marshall (Anika Noni Rose, the very image of chic poise) is new to the neighborhood – an upward adjustment. She has volunteered her tastefully appointed living room (enhanced by designer Derek McLane with artworks and artifacts emblematic of Black culture) as a meeting place for the neighborhood association, a grab bag of local would-be movers and shakers.
Claiming pride of place (the lone chair-and-a-half) is the committee’s pompous all-but-hereditary chairperson, Elliot Emerson (Richard Thomas), who grasps his gavel like an emergency brake. Elliot’s comeuppance is pretty much guaranteed from the outset, but it’s fun when it comes.
Marylouise Burke plays dithery elderly committee secretary Penny – a perfect instance of typecasting. (It should be: Lindsay-Abaire built the script around Burke’s signature quirks.) We’re given to believe that, although Penny is well past typical retirement age, she also works as a receptionist by day. That part’s a bit of a stretch, but never mind: Burke is delightful in her bespoke role.
The other committee members are an olio of types: e.g., an adamant New Ager (Kayli Carter), an acerbic provocateuse (Margaret Colin), and a standard-issue neighorhood dad (Michael Esper) who has an uphill battle just getting a word in edgewise.
Meanwhile, be sure to track Luz (Maria-Christina Oliveras), the housekeeper keeping everyone comfortable, nourished, and with any luck cordial. You’d be hard pressed not to keep Luz in your sights: the playwright is clearly holding a function in reserve for her.
Though it may not be his best work to date, middling Lindsay-Abaire bests any number of contenders. The play is worth seeing — for enjoyment’s sake and also as a cautionary tale should you find yourself tempted to shoulder civic duty.
Details:The Balusters, to June 7