Winner of the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Primary Trust is currently onstage at the Westport Country Playhouse. I saw Eboni Booth’s moving, bittersweet drama about loneliness and friendship exactly a year ago at TheaterWorks in Hartford. It was a pleasure to revisit this lovely play at the Playhouse.
Primary Trust introduces Kenneth, a 38-year-old African-American bookstore worker, living in the fictional Rochester suburb of Cranberry, New York. Reminiscent of the Stage Manager in Our Town, Kenneth is our guide through his life in Cranberry, a journey of self-discovery resulting in losing one job, perhaps getting another, and the twists and surprises along the way. I hesitate to reveal much more of the plot here because the discovery of just what Booth has in store for viewers should not be spoiled.
Instead, I will marvel at the playwright’s generosity of spirit and humanity that she gives Kenneth, and how that is transferred to the audience in meaningful and often unexpected ways. We all probably know a “Kenneth”, lonely men, sitting solo in a bar, nursing drinks, drifting through life with, what appears to be, no purpose. In Primary Trust, which is performed just under 95 minutes without intermission, we follow Kenneth and learn more about what made and makes him the man we see before us. It’s often a riveting journey.
Onstage for the entirety of the play, Alphonso Walker Jr. makes for a vulnerable, funny, and touching Kenneth, who makes you both fear and root for his outcome. It’s a subtle performance of great nuance even if, at times, Walker needs to pump up the volume. At TheaterWorks the play seemed to work a little better due to the intimacy of that space. At Westport’s larger venue, the actors are further removed from the audience and need to give larger performances without overplaying the nuances.
The supporting cast lends able support with Jasminn Johnson effortlessly playing several characters, including the crucial role of Corrina, who just may give Kenneth a reason to smile. Lance Coadie Williams, as Kenneth’s mysterious best friend, is a winning side-kick with a commanding voice, and Greg Stuhr lends variety as two very different bosses that shape Kenneth’s work life.
All the actors, under the perceptive direction of Logan Vaughn, are called upon to keep the action flowing and they succeed admirably. Jack Magaw’s scenic design utilizes a moving turntable effectively, and it is nicely lit by Jonah Bobilin’s fluid lighting. Ari Fulton’s costumes work fine, but I wish she had found a jacket or something more appropriate for Kenneth when he lands a new job.
In all, I found the Hartford show ultimately more moving, but the Playhouse production doesn’t lack for talent and manages a solid rendering of this beautiful drama.
Primary Trust continues at the Westport Country Playhouse, 25 Powers Court in Westport, Connecticut through May 2nd. For further information and ticket reservations, call the theatre box office at 203.227.4177 or visit: www.westportplayhouse.org.
Tom Holehan is one of the founders of the Connecticut Critics Circle, a frequent contributor to WPKN Radio’s “State of the Arts” program and the Stratford Crier and former Artistic Director of Stratford’s Square One Theatre Company. He welcomes comments at: tholehan@yahoo.com. His reviews and other theatre information can be found on the Connecticut Critics Circle website: www.ctcritics.org.
