Eboni Booth’s gorgeous new play, Primary Trust, running through May 11th at TheaterWorks, is delicate and devastating, occasionally hilarious and sometimes heartbreaking, and always worthy of deep thought and feeling. Jennifer Chang, director, keeps all these moods beautifully balanced.
The plot would, at first, seem unassuming, even guileless. Kenneth, alone in a spotlight, stutters through several attempts to tell us what happened. Then, seeming to avoid the story he has come to tell, he begins, instead, with the closing of the bookstore where he has worked for twenty years, and with his need to get another job, despite his lack of conventional qualifications. His favorite place in the world is Wally’s, a tiki bar that serves the best mai tais anyone could ever imagine. Kenneth spends every evening there, drinking mai tais with his best friend, Bert.
At this point, Booth drops her first gentle hint of quirkiness. Kenneth calmly assures us that Bert is real; it’s just that he’s visible only to Kenneth.
From here, the story moves along in short scenes punctuated by colored light changes (Lighting Design by Bryan Ealy) and ambiguous sound effects (Sound Design by Frederick Kennedy). These technical elements are just enough to keep us off balance, in the same way that the presence of Bert is at once a given and a mystery: we can see him perfectly well, yet he seems too sweet and kind to be true.
One night at Wally’s, a waitress, Corrina, suggests that Kenneth apply to the Primary Trust Bank, since she’s heard that a lot of their tellers have moved to Mutual Loan. He gathers up his courage, and with the help of Bert, lands in the Primary Trust office, where the manager, a boisterous Clay (played by a marvelous Ricardo Chavira) hires him—quite improbably, unless we have been listening to every word.
Improbably, too, Kenneth turns out to be an excellent bank teller. He appears to be widening his world, but if we notice this, he doesn’t seem to, remaining shy and sad. By the time Kenneth tells us the story he’s been trying to tell from the beginning, we see that through restrained pacing and subtle details, Booth has been giving us all the clues we need.
Director Jennifer Chang and her top-notch designers have done Booth proud, with elaborately decorated sliding panels (Nicholas Ponting) and evocative sound and lighting design. In addition, the costume and wig designs (Danielle Preston and Earon Chew Nealey) perfectly delineate each character: an especially crucial element when two of the four actors play numerous roles.
All four of the actors are nothing less than superb. However, those who play one role—Justin Weaks as Kenneth and Samual Stricklen as Bert—are truly remarkable. Stricklen makes sure that not only do we completely believe in Bert, but that we love him, just as Kenneth does. His Bert is a wonderful listener, an encouraging coach, and an optimistic presence in Kenneth’s life.
When Weaks, as Kenneth, walks onstage and into the spotlight, the moment is electrifying—if only because he carries with him such depth of enigmatic feeling before he says a word. He has been directed to scan the audience, making eye contact as he goes. We don’t understand why, or why this is so touching—until the play’s end. But from that first instance, Weaks has mesmerized us.
I, for one, would give a great deal to see Primary Trust again. The second time would be a completely different experience, in the very best sense. Bravo to TheaterWorks!
Primary Trust continues at TheaterWorks, 233 Pearl Street in Hartford, Connecticut through May 11. For further information and ticket reservations call the theatre box office at 860.527.7838 or visit: www.twhartford.org.
