Primary Trust at La Jolla Playhouse
2024 Pulitzer Play by Eboni Smith
By: Sharon Eubanks - Oct 07, 2024
Primary Trust
The La Jolla Playhouse presented the West Coast premiere of playwright Eboni Smith’s Primary Trust, winner of the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for drama.
Thirty-eight-year-old Kenneth, played by Caleb Eberhardt, lives in Cranberry, NY, a small town a short ride from Rochester. Kenneth’s small town consists of the usual bowling alley, a few banks, a church, and a smattering of small family-owned businesses. His single mom died when he was ten which led to a life growing up in foster homes. As an adult Kenneth works in a bookstore owned by a kind-hearted man who has taken Kenneth under his wing and has provided Kenneth a steady, stress-free, non-challenging life. Every single night at the local tiki bar and through an endless stream of new wait staff over the years, Kenneth drinks Mai Tais with his close friend Bert. Bert is married with a wife and 2 kids and seems to be Kenneth’s only close friend.
In poor health, the bookstore owner tells Kenneth he is retiring and moving away from Cranberry. In shock, Kenneth realizes he will have to find his own way in the town and the world around him. So begins a long-delayed coming-of-age journey for Kenneth.
Acting on a tip from Corinna, the newest waitress at the tiki bar, Kenneth applies for a job as a teller at the local bank. Having never interviewed for a job, he practices with Bert. For all his social awkwardness, he stumbles through the interview and gets the job as a bank teller.
Over time he finds he is quite good at it. Kenneth grows more comfortable in this bigger world. Looking back on how his life as a child changed when his mother died, Kenneth recalls the traumatic circumstances leading to his relationship with Bert. Kenneth experiences more of the world and develops a friendship with Corinna, becoming less dependent on Bert. The growing separation from Bert triggers a confrontation between the two leading to a horrific episode between an emotionally distressed Kenneth and a bank customer. However, with help from Corinna and his boss at the bank, Kenneth recovers and moves on, successfully completing his coming-of-age journey.
Eboni Smith’s play is a celebration of the human spirit, and how a community can get together and lift up its most vulnerable citizens. Would Kenneth have succeeded if he had lived in the foster care system in a bigger city? Most likely not. Fortunately for him, this small town provides the support he needs to overcome the ways early childhood trauma pushed him to withdraw into himself.
Coming out of foster care, the bookstore owner provided him a safe space and the means to support himself. When he loses the bookstore job, the bank owner sees his brother in Kenneth and gives him a chance. Even after the horrific episode with the customer, the bank owner stands by him and gives him a second chance.
Caleb Eberhardt’s strong performance is aptly matched by James Odum (Bert), Rebecca S’manga Frank (Corinna and others), and James Urbaniak (bookstore owner, bank owner and others). Importantly, the small-town setting provides the tight space for the soft background music played by Luke Wygodny, and the personal tensions swirling around on stage.
Playing thru October 20th.