‘The Balusters’ Fearless Margaret Colin On The Amazing Cast Of The Tony-Nominated Play [VIDEO]

You would easily recognize Margaret Colin, perhaps not by name, but she’s appeared in blockbuster films, popular TV shows and celebrated stage productions.

Colin is currently wowing audiences in David Lindsay-Abaire’s insightful and stinging new play, The Balusters, presented by Manhattan Theater Club and up for five Tony Awards including Best Play. And while Colin was egregiously not among this year’s Tony nominees, she does make quite an impression in the ten-character ensemble. She was my favorite in a cast of remarkable thespians all doing fantastic work.

When told that she should have been Tony nominated, Colin heartily laughed and said, “That’s beginning to be my favorite thing I read on the internet!” But then offered, “To be my age and in my seventh Broadway show is kind of mind-boggling. I never worried about the Tony Awards. To add that to the list of things that I should pray about and look forward to the nom, it just seems like not really (being) grateful. I mean, I’m flattered by the people saying you should have gotten one.”

The Balusters takes place in Vernon Point, an East Coast city populated by overly privileged, affluent suburbanites who will do what they must to protect their neighborhood.

The entire play is set in the front parlor of the Victorian home of a well-off African-American woman, Kyra Marshall (Anika Noni Rose), who is hosting the Neighborhood Association meeting. New to the area, Kyra is eager to discuss an issue involving a busy and dangerous intersection outside her home where there is no stop sign. As each member arrives, we become privy to the social maneuverings and subtle politicking that goes on. Some folks lean status quo, while others are progressive. But they all seem to have their own agendas.

Colin plays the outspoken and opinionated Ruth who arrives wearing a rabbit fur jacket and refuses to take it off until the younger, uber-liberal and woke Willow (Kayli Carter) arrives–just because she knows it will really annoy her. The actress has a brilliant way with a cutting line delivery that always feels organic to her character. She’s a scene-stealer without even trying. But she also, sometimes, allows us a peek into her more vulnerable side.

Lindsay-Abaire has a keen ability to satirize so much of what is wrong with politics on both sides of the spectrum today, indicting each of his characters but demanding empathy for them as well. The play dares to ask the audience to take a look at their own idiosyncrasies, prejudices, pretenses, rigidity, wokeness and where they really land on the political spectrum when they’re pushed to an extreme. Read my review HERE.

Colin is probably best known for her onscreen roles as Eleanor Waldorf in Gossip Girl, Margo Hughes in As the World Turns, Jane McCabe in Veep  and Constance Spano in Independence Day.

She began her acting career at the age of 19 in the soap Edge of Night. Three years on As The World Turns followed, where she met her husband Justin Deas. She, then, appeared on various TV shows including Foley Square Sibs and Chicago Hope, but would gain an entirely new fanbase when she played, Eleanor Waldorf, the mother of Leighton Meester’s character Blair on Gossip Girl for all six seasons. Other TV credits: Law & Order, Royal Pains, Medium, Blue Bloods, Nurse Jacke, The Good Wife, Elementary, Gotham and Madam Secretary. In 2017 she landed a stint on HBO’s hilarious satire Veep, where she shared the Screen Actors Guild Ensemble Award with her fellow cast members.

On the big screen Colin’s  co-starred in Pretty in Pink, Something Wild, The Butcher’s Wife, Independence Day, The Adventures of Sebastian Cole, Unfaithful, Deception, The Missing Person and Equity.

Her Broadway credits include Jackie: An American Life (1997), the revival of A Day in the Death of Joe Egg (2003), Old Acquaintance (2011), the revival of Arcadia (2011), The Columnist (2012) and the revival of Carousel (2018). She’s also appeared in numerous off-Broadway and regional productions.

She received a Theatre World Award as well as a nomination for the Drama League Award and two Drama Desk Award nominations (for MTC’s Aristocrats (1989) and Defiance (2006).) And she was in the terrific ensemble of Richard Greenberg’s The Perplexed (2020), also for MTC, right before lockdown.

The Balusters has been extended through June 21 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. For Tix: THE BALUSTERS

The Contending had a blast speaking with Colin about the show and her career.