Review: PRIMARY TRUST at Everyman Theatre

Eboni Booth’s Pulitzer Prize winning drama PRIMARY TRUST is a poetic meditation on resilience in the face of trauma and isolation. The pain at the center of the story is delivered quietly wrapped in a cozy package of charming characters living in the quaint town of Cranberry, New York  with the motto "Welcome Friend, You're Right on Time!" Directed by Reginald L. Douglas, this moving production captures the heart of Booth’s play drawing the audience into its warm and wise embrace.

At its center is Kenneth (RJ Brown), a 38-year-old bookstore employee who has remained almost frozen-in-time in his sleepy upstate New York hometown. Kenneth’s small world is structured by routine, comforted by imaginary friendships, and steeped in nostalgia. His evenings are spent at a tiki bar with his closest (and possibly only) companion, Bert (Louis E. Davis).  When Kenneth suddenly loses his job, his placid life is upended and he is forced to face his fears and learn how to adapt.

Douglas’s direction creates an engaging balance of introspection with awkward and endearing connections. He knows how to draw out the lines of emotional tension that bring depth to the warm and fuzzy Hallmark environment. Brown gives a superbly nuanced performance as Kenneth who is more than he seems and less than he could be. Brown deftly juxtaposes Kenneth's brightness with the shadows that lie beneath the surface. When he breaks the fourth wall and talks to the audience directly, you feel you are truly his confidant and champion. The audience becomes a part of the play rather like Bert has become a part of Kenneth's life.

Davis is charming as the affable Bert who seems more real than imaginary as he is a reflection of Kenneth's own inner strength and optimism. We would all like a Bert to lean on; or perhaps we might also like to be Bert. Andrea Bellamore gives a tour-de-force performance as multiple townspeople of every type and stripe that encounter Kenneth on his journey of self-discovery. The audience was delighted by her ability to shape-shift between characters. Jefferson A. Russell captures every character he  portrays with perfection. He morphs seamlessly from kindly bookstore owner to over-spirited bank manager giving emotional weight to these two mentors in Kenneth's life. These four actors bring an entire town to life. 

Paige Hathaway has designed a set that is so beautifully intimate and detailed that it could be a Disney ride. This may be the first set that should offer tours to the audience so they can escape into the golden glow of Cranberry. The entire production is lovingly crafted to bring one man's life into focus. One life can speak to many people. 

The lure of a hometown many of us long for or never knew is an idea that runs through American theater like:Thornton Wilder's OUR TOWN written in 1938 during the Depression about small town America at the turn of the century and HARVEY written in 1944 about a charming small-town man and his imaginary friend. PRIMARY TRUST exists along this timeline of timeless themes: the poetry that lives inside every person, our vulnerabilities, our daily stuggles and small victories, the courage it takes to live everyday of an ordinary life. And finally, the revelation that we are all ordinary and extraordinary. Sometimes, taking a breath is an act of bravery. 

PRIMARY TRUST runs now through March 2 at the Everyman Theatre located at 315 W. Fayette St. For tickets or more information call (410) 752-2208 or go online to everymantheatre.org