REVIEW: Primary Trust (Signature Theatre)
Have you seen "Inside", the Netflix special by comedian Bo Burnham?
If not, I recommend it wholeheartedly: it's a series of sketches written, produced, filmed by, and starring Burnham in his living room over the early days of the COVID lockdowns. It is technically a "comedy" special -- but the humor derives from poor Bo's spiral into madness. Like the rest of us, he's captivated by the absurdity that all of our lives suddenly ground to a halt, but at least he has the ability to make bittersweet humor out of it. It's one of the first examples of "Covid-core" media, and it's one I'll definitely be showing my kids when they ask what the pandemic was like a few decades from now.
Obviously there too were the horrors. The hopelessness and isolation that shattered psyches and soft-reset everyone's personalities. Playwright Eboni Booth distills these morbidities into the character of Kenneth, the lead in her 2024 Pulitzer winner Primary Trust, currently having its DC premiere at Signature.
Book
"I don't believe in heaven or hell, but I do believe in friends."
Trust is a heavy and complex piece. In essence, it chronicles the humble life of Kenneth, a 38 year-old loner from an exurban town in Upstate New York. He's one of the few Black people in the place, and has worked at a bookstore for the last 20 years. He was oprhaned as a boy, and every day for the last 15 years prior to the show, he has gone to Wally's Bar to get mai tais with his best friend, Burt, after work. One day, the bookstore's cantankerous but sympathetic owner informs Kenneth the store is closing, setting into motion the first significant upheaval of his life since his mother's death. It’s hard to avoid spoilers for how this plays out, which I found a barrier as both to my expectations and and how I would report on it. But what I can say is that this slow burn is worth the time spent. Booth has constructed a stunningly heart wrenching analysis on the epidemic of loneliness and mental health. Kenneth is an achingly grounded character definitively shaped by his trauma, and watching him navigate all of this in a pre-Covid setting is a harrowing foreshadow for what we all experienced in the early 2020s. At the same time, he is surrounded by comparatively flatter characters that inflate with time, as he grows closer to them and lets go of the past. By the end of the play, the 85-minutes preceding it that were full of wincing pity (and often dread) seem vindicated by suddenly renewed optimism. 10/10
Acting
Julius Thomas III takes an incredibly demanding role in Kenneth and makes it his own. By his creative expressions and neurotic body language, he is able to convey both an internal warmth and external frost effortlessly, and is able to oppose any of his co-stars with excellent contrast to emphasize his characterization. Yesenia Iglesias and Craig Wallace, DC favorites, sweetly float in and out to serve as a range of townsfolk that Kenneth interacts with, the most important of which being the awkward and kind-hearted waitress Corrina and his two managers Clay and Sam, respectively. Burt, by the gently affable Frank Britton (another DC fave), is a scene-stealing partner in crime whose friendly assertions evolve alongside Kenneth over the play, serving as a well-rounded catalyst for the interactions of the piece. 9/10
Production
I’m a fan of Taylor Reynolds’ understanding directorial style, and this is no exception to that pattern. Misha Kachman’s geographic set, features a sparse center of oration but is brilliantly lit by Venus Gulbranson. The synergy in which Kachman’s backstage map of the town lights up each location to indicate the setting of the story is a charming touch on its own. Where it peaks, however, is in the moments of greatest fragility that Reynolds handles with care. In one case, the orange lighting diffuses the center stage during a moment of peak emotional vulnerability for Kenneth, but the rimmed lighting around the wall remains a harshly unwelcoming blue, is just one example of the hot/cold dichotomy used to expert effect in both a physical and interpersonal sense. 8/10
Viz
Entering the space, you get a sort of "Our Town" vibe, as the walls are fringed with flat, colorful building facades. This contrasts from the pewtery etchings of the town map on the backdrop, to a decent effect. The program design features a happy Kenneth enjoying a Mai Tai; I didn't quite know what I was getting into when I read about the piece, and I didn't think this made it any clearer. But I'm also not sure what I would have done differently. Sometimes you just have to let the piece talk. ([SPOILER: take a look at the lower right puddle and you’ll notice a pair of legs. That’s an excellent detail that alludes to major plot points; bonus points for its inclusion.) 8/10
Verdict
Signature’s Trust is a walloping 90-minute affair, embracing dark lonesomeness and its consequences; but be patient and you’re rewarded with rich optimism and a light of inspiration from the indominable human spirit. 35/40
