Plays Isaac Rosario, a no-nonsense construction worker

You've got this multigenerational, multicultural group of actors and their characters bringing all these different things into the room. Same thing with our audience. There are going to be obvious reactions that are built in, but we get a lot of nuanced reactions from different audiences from night to night.

Are they a younger audience? Are they a diverse audience? Are they an audience that is filled with people that actually belong to an HOA? Some people have strong feelings, and we love it. The stronger the feelings are, the better.

Plays Brooks Duncan, a travel writer and dad

The audience is bringing a fresh life to the play. They're the last character we needed, and what they are, they're picking up on things that we didn't necessarily find in the [rehearsal] room. They are confirming things that we did find in the room. [...] What I hope people walk away with is the understanding that we're all in this together.

Plays Elliot Emerson, a reactionary realtor and old-fashioned leader of the neighborhood association

It's a blind date. The audience is the new member of the cast every night, and the play is never complete until the new member of the cast, which is the audience, comes into the theatre. It’s great fun.

There are a lot more laughs than we realized in rehearsal. That's always a good thing, but there are always surprises, and that's one of the joys of doing a play over and over again. Over the course of the run, you learn things that are new about the play, and you learn new things about the audience and how they feel about it. I’m looking forward to that journey.

Plays Melissa Han, a quick-witted lawyer and neighborhood association veep who loves stirring the pot

It's been exhilarating. It just keeps hammering in how universal and relatable the play is and how everyone can really relate to it, or see themselves, or see somebody that they know. What resonates with me from the show is that we're all flawed, and we could all use a little grace in our lives. At the same time, we don't have to give away our power or self-respect.

Plays Ruth Ackerman, the unfiltered treasurer of the neighborhood association

We have to hold for laughs like crazy. Sometimes audiences don’t want to see our leading lady as flawed, and other times they're following the plot where everybody’s flaws are revealed. Ruth is pretty much upfront with her opinions, and you either like her or you don’t, but she's going to make you laugh.

Plays Willow Gibbons, who grew up in the neighborhood

At the dress rehearsal, everybody’s friends are there. So, you're like, "Oh, no one's ever going to laugh like that again. That's going to happen one time." And it's been happening every single night. People are laughing, people are going deadly silent. People are agreeing pretty loudly in certain sections if they don't like something that someone is saying. So this is maybe one of the most alive houses I've ever been a part of. The audiences have all become members of the HOA.

I was signing autographs the other night outside the theatre, and a gentleman was like, "Are you having a good time?" And I said, "Yeah, we actually all really like each other." And he said, "You cannot tell." That is a testament to the power of this play.

Plays Alan Kirby, whose unassertive, nice-guy tendencies aren’t assets in this group

Once the audience shows up, it's like a whole new conversation. There's so much that gets dropped in the play, each person really comes out with some wild stuff. And hearing how that lands on the audience and what they push back on, what they receive and celebrate, is really exciting.

Plays Kyra Marshall, who lobbies for the stop sign

It’s always lovely to have the audience there. It is the thing that makes live theatre a joy and a challenge.

That energy moves with you and buoys you as you go along through the play. Some audiences respond differently than other audiences. You never know what the response is going to be.

One woman yelled out at a pivotal point in the play, "Don’t have a stroke." That was a surprise. There was also a woman who came and she said, "I haven't laughed this hard or felt this introspective in a very long time." That’s what we want — to laugh your way to a new thought about something.

Plays Luz Baccay, Elliot’s former housekeeper who now works for Kyra

Every night is so different. It's so thrilling to experience the laughter of pure joy and entertainment and also awkwardness of, "Oh, I just laughed at that. Was that right?" To feel the audience shift perspective and alliances, through the laughter, through the discomfort, through the joy, has been so thrilling.

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Photo credit: The Balusters on Broadway. (Photos by Jeremy Daniel)