Veteran actress Margaret Colin chatted about starring in “The Balusters” on Broadway, where she plays Ruth Ackerman.
This play is being performed at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre in New York, which is operated by the Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC).
Colin noted that the name of the play is derived from “the pole that holds up the banister.”
This new play by Pulitzer Prize winner David Lindsay-Abaire was directed by Tony winner Kenny Leon. Aside from Colin, it stars Marylouise Burke, Kayli Carter, Ricardo Chavira, Carl Clemons-Hopkins, Michael Esper, Maria-Christina Oliveras, Anika Noni Rose, Richard Thomas, and Jeena Yi.
“So far, we have done preview No. 7… so it has been hectic and nerve-wracking,” she admitted. “They have us do a lot of minor changes here and there in between scenes.”
Playing Ruth Ackerman
“The material and the play itself is a joy,” she said. “It’s really fun and Ruth is a really great character. It’s a pleasure to sink into David’s lines. Ruth is just very funny and outrageous.”
“Ruth makes herself laugh,” Colin said. “She makes everybody else laugh. She has a very strong opinion about how to handle social issues. Yeah, and she’s confident.”
“Ruth is happy to be her age and where she is, and she’s very dedicated to preserving this community and that’s the play is about,” she added.
Working with the cast and crew
On working with the cast and crew, Colin said, “I didn’t know Anika Noni Rose and I didn’t know Marylouise Burke. I also didn’t know the playwright or the director, but I have worked at Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC) for 38 years. So, I’m pretty familiar with the setup there.”
“The MTC is wonderful,” she said. “I’m dressing roommates with Marylouise, who is hysterical and one of a kind.”
“I think that the Manhattan Theatre Club is really trying to develop a younger audience, where people can afford to come and see a show, and also these people can see themselves in the play on stage or they can find someone that they can relate to,” she elaborated.
Lessons learned from ‘The Balusters’
On the lessons learned from “The Balusters,” Colin said with a sweet laugh, “It taught me that I’m getting old, and that it’s good to be funny, and that I can still do it.”
“I do a lot of theater and it’s great to have years of experience under your belt,” she said. “I think I got to know that with a couple of other shows, but because of the pandemic, there weren’t too many plays. That’s really what I’ve learned. That I can still do this after 38 years.”
Superpower of choice
On her superpower of choice, Colin responded, “I was watching Judy Garland in ‘Easter Parade’ and I would love to be those iconic actors in those moments… dancing with Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly, and having a scene with Cary Grant.”
“That would be some sort of transformation to go back in time and become people in that classic film. That would be so much fun,” she admitted.
Stage of her life
On the title of the current chapter of her life, Colin said,” It’s Springtime in New York with a Broadway show and having my men around me is pretty joyful.”
Closing thoughts on ‘The Balusters’
For fans and viewers, she expressed about “The Balusters,” “I want them to laugh because Ruth is really funny. We are handling subjects that are very dicey,such as diversion, inclusion, wealth and privilege.
“Also, what to preserve and what not to preserve, what to let go to, what to incorporate and what to hold the line to. So these are all things, I mean, it’s in the metaphor of a homeowner’s association on a landmark street,” she said.
“It’s actually based on the playwright’s experience with his homeowner’s association in Brooklyn. So, to handle these subjects with a bunch of strangers over the course of five weeks has given me an opportunity to handle those things with my loved ones with more confidence and with more grace, she elaborated.
“I hope the audience gets a little taste of that in this show,” she concluded.
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