Quiet Suburb, Loud Politics: The Balusters Skewers a Neighborhood Clique

David Lindsay-Abaire’s The Balusters, staged at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, skewers suburban discourse as Kyra, a new neighbor, clashes with Elliot, head of a wealthy neighborhood association, over a practical stop sign that would upset the area’s ‘picturesque’ life. The play uses sharp comic banter to explore class and liberal piety through strong performances by Anika Noni Rose and Richard Thomas, under Kenny Leon’s direction, but its satire remains tidy and familiar rather than aggressively provocative.