Primary Trust is the name of a bank in the show, but also the theme of the show. Who do you turn to when the world is terrifying? How do you navigate when you don’t have the vocabulary to ask for help? What is it like to be invisibly damaged while appearing to be fully functional? How do you learn to interact with and love others when your lifetime experience is one of being “othered”? Primary Trust doesn’t ask these questions, or fully answer them, but it certainly provokes them in a discerning audience.
Playwright Eboni Booth has written some captivating prose and dialogue, including natural conversations and moving monologues. There are some amazing lines in this beautifully written show, but just as well-written are the incredibly awkward moments, and there are many. It’s a new play — Primary Trust won the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Distinguished Play by an American Author. Because of its theme, it falls into the category of “dramedy,” though it’s got a lot of well-played humor embedded.
Director Reginald L. Douglas sure-handedly combines the facets of theater: an expressive, relatable cast, a well-constructed, auditorily pleasing script, and a theater that quietly has all the bells and a few extra whistles hidden beneath its “aw, shucks, nothing fancy” aesthetic. The result is a cohesively excellent production.
Kenneth, our main character, is facing unexpected, and, frankly, unwanted changes in his life after being fired from his bookstore job. His reluctant growth is supported by good-hearted people who genuinely want Kenneth to succeed and even thrive. Most of them actually exist.
RJ Brown as Kenneth is new to Everyman, but his earnestness seems familiar. As his character undergoes fundamental changes during the show, the levels and intensity of emotion he commits to with each performance are impressive. Also debuting at Everyman is Louis E. Davis, who plays Bert, Kenneth’s best pal, with genuine warmth and quick humor. Portraying several influential figures in Kenneth’s life is Resident Company member Jefferson A. Russell, who gives each character a different physicality and dialogue delivery so thoroughly that I double-check the program. Andrea` Bellamore changes like quicksilver to become all the staff at Kenneth’s favorite hangout and all the customers at Kenneth’s new job. As his new friend Corina, Bellamore is approachable, enthusiastic, and tremendously appealing.
Everyman Theatre’s space is a beautiful mystery. Adorable turntable shoebox mini-sets and suspended frames filled with pictures of neighborhood-style buildings are all much more sophisticated than they appear at first glance. My fascination with scene-change wizardry makes me sit up straight and crane my neck in a couple of spots where the functional word is “whoosh.” Set Designer Paige Hathaway gives the production storybook cuteness, wristwatch precision, and a whisper of the otherworldly in the spaces between them.
Lighting Designer Harold F. Burgess II illuminates Hathaway’s storybook set with lights both bright and dim, and throws shadows at extreme angles, adding an almost graphic novel element to the visuals. Sound Designer Kathy Ruvuna uses specific sounds to create some of the set, and deploys ambient sound and dramatic silence with specific intent, to excellent effect. Costume Designer David Burdick gives each character a signature look with no obvious fashion clues as to when this story takes place. Maybe now, maybe 1980, which gives the show timelessness and relatability for audience members of every age.
From the cheerful box office staff to the sleek bathrooms downstairs, the themed cocktails at Vinny’s bar, and the extremely helpful ushers, the experience at Everyman is a high-end, low-key delight before you even take your seat. Sitting in your seat, enjoying the direct address of the story’s central character, Kenneth, you’ll share his world, one that’s both idealized and terrifying, and you’ll join — and encourage — him as he gradually moves toward a manageable reality. How much reality is there in this fictional work? Far too much for comfort, but the hopeful resolution of the show gives us reason to believe in positivity and, yes, even trust.
Running Time: 90 minutes, with no intermission.
Primary Trust plays through March 2, 2025 (Wednesday through Saturday at 7 PM, Saturdays and Sundays at 1 PM) at Everyman Theatre, 315 West Fayette St., Baltimore, MD. Purchase tickets ($63–$86, or Pay What You Choose) online or contact the box office by phone at 410-752-2208 (Mondays–Fridays 12 PM – 5 PM; also open two hours prior to every performance) or email boxoffice@everymantheatre.org.
Accessibility: Everyman emphasizes its commitment to accessibility for all, including those with economic challenges, with Pay-What-You-Choose prices.
The cast and creative credits for Primary Trust are available here (scroll down).
COVID Safety: Masks are encouraged, though not required. Everyman’s complete health and safety guide is here.
Primary Trust
By Eboni Booth
Directed by Reginald L. Douglas
CREATIVES
Paige Hathaway: Scenic Design
Harold F. Burgess, II: Lighting Design
Kathy Ruvuna: Sound Design
David Burdick: Costume Design
Molly Prunty: Stage Manager
CAST
Andreá Bellamore: Corina / Wally’s Waiter / Bank Customers
RJ Brown: Kenneth
Louis E. Davis: Bert
Jefferson A. Russell: Clay / Sam / Le Pousselet Bartender
