When we first meet Kenneth (Caleb Eberhardt), he’s a bit of a mess. He's losing his job at a bookstore. He's a regular at the tiki bar. He's been through unimaginable trauma. And he has one friend to his name — who, we learn in the first moments of the play, turns out to be imaginary.
Kenneth has a long road ahead as he is forced to reintergrate into society in the small, run-down town of Cranberry, New York.
Eboni Booth's "Primary Trust" won the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 2024. It's a brilliant script, blending humanity, sadness and humor.
"Kenneth is an incredible character who reminds us that we have the power to actually change our lives no matter how old we are, and that the community around us actually has the capability to impact change if we are open to the idea of it," said Eric Keen-Louie, artistic producing director at La Jolla Playhouse, where "Primary Trust" is on stage through Oct. 20.
The script, along with Booth's masterful storytelling, is quiet in a way that contrasts with past Pulitzer winners, which were often big and "bold," Keen-Louie said. And though it may be quiet, it has no shortage of vibrancy and its own unique boldness.
"I think what (Booth) brings to it is not just a real humanity, but I think something that we're all so much in need of right now, a genuine kindness. She cares about this character at the heart of the play immensely, and she asks us not to judge him, but to go on the ride with him," Keen-Louie said.
The Pulitzer Prize board lauded the play's embodiment of the power of care and kindness: "A simple and elegantly crafted story of an emotionally damaged man who finds a new job, new friends and a new sense of worth, illustrating how small acts of kindness can change a person’s life and enrich an entire community."
A harsh New England winter seeps in as Kenneth navigates his newly upside-down world, tasting small victories and failures, and gradually revealing more about his haunting past.
"So when you first meet Kenneth, you don't learn everything. Yes, you learn that the person he's talking to is imaginary, but that actually isn't what the play is about. And you start getting little hints of things as, honestly, Kenneth as a character starts to trust you as an audience," Keen-Louie said.
The story unfolds in fragments. A live musician dings a bell as scenes change, sometimes mid-sentence. Three other cast members flit on and off the stage, offering Kenneth a chance to reach for community, while also providing a massive dose of comedy.
"One of our actors, Rebecca (S'Manga Frank), who plays — her main character is Corrina, who was the person who really sort of starts unlocking within Kenneth, opening up — plays all of the waiters and bartenders and servers who work in the tiki bar. Throughout the course of the play, I think she plays a total of 30 characters with honestly little to no costume change. It's all in her inflection and her voice and her body, and how she carries it to bring all these characters to life," Keen-Louie said. "What's interesting — and it's written into the script, it's what Eboni sort of envisioned for this piece — is that there is this world swirling around Kenneth as he's going through his life, but because he's not present, it feels like it's the same person, because he's actually not connecting with them."
Check out this "Primary Trust" rehearsal clip featuring Eberhardt and S'Manga Frank:
The mix of humor and trauma works well in the play because it's genuine, and that's how people move through life, he said.
"I think life is joy and sorrow, hand in hand," Keen-Louie said. "You learn to savor the highs and the joy and you learn to embrace in your own way the sorrowful moments that you have and try to find the joy in the pain. I think that's what makes this play so human. I think it's what makes this play hit people in the heart. It's what I love about theater."
The story illustrates that kindness is at the essence of healing and connection, and Keen-Louie said that even though what happens may seem small — just a few people in a very small town — its humanity can have a big impact.
"It's so moving to watch audiences process the play in real time, as these events are happening, and you see moments of recollection on people's faces. You see moments of real connection — and I think that's what's gorgeous about this play, what's gorgeous about the theater in general — that I think it's a mirror to us about our own lives and certainly now with everything happening in this country, in the world. We're trying to find joy in this moment of chaos."
Details: "Primary Trust" is on stage through Oct. 20. La Jolla Playhouse Mandell Weiss Forum Theatre, 2910 La Jolla Village Drive, UC San Diego. $30-$94.
