Stage Review - Primary Trust (Seattle Rep)

Stage Review - Primary Trust
Presented By: Seattle Rep - Seattle, WA
Show Run: October 24 - November 24, 2024
Date Reviewed: Friday, October 30, 2024 (Opening Night)
Reviewed By: Greg Heilman

Humans are complex creatures, which is probably understating things quite a bit. What sets us apart from our brothers and sisters in the animal kingdom largely is the complexity of our thinking, reasoning for one, which leads to complex problem solving, arguably our strongest defense mechanism. Along with that complexity comes a whole litany of other psychological layers that on one hand seen so fragile that the line between sanity and insanity becomes seemingly more and more gray each day. Part and parcel to that, and a component of said defense mechanism structure, is how we each deal with trauma, whether physical or emotional, how we deal with loss, and how we protect ourselves from the pain that ensues after each. One thing that age provides is wisdom, of course, at least to the extent that I’ve learned each person handles these things differently, each person’s loss, trauma, pain, and subsequent reaction is unique and is just as impactful to them as any that I might have is to me. It’s this knowledge that provides empathy, but it also provides one with the ability to understand when a character on stage invokes a particular coping mechanism to deal with his loss or his trauma, and when that coping mechanism is an important part in the growing in his transformation as a human being, which is used to teach us about the importance of relationships, friendship, and love. And that’s exactly what the main character Kenneth is teaching us in Eboni Booth’s play Primary Trust, currently running on stage through November 24 at the Seattle Rep, in a production directed by Kaytlin McIntyre.

You see, when Kenneth was younger, he lost his mother to cancer. Losing a parent is never easy, and losing one to cancer is excruciating, but the events surrounding the loss of his mother were excessively difficult on Kenneth, as he explains in Primary Trust. The result of all of this is his inseparable friendship with Bert, inseparable because Bert doesn’t exactly exist anywhere outside of Kenneth’s mind. Bert, though, is more than just the white rabbit from Harvey, he’s a fully fleshed out person, with his own family, and his own life. He’s also the voice of positivity and only support system in Kenneth’s life, which is otherwise filled with anxiety and a lot of time spent at his favorite place, Wally’s Tiki Bar in his hometown of Cranberry, NY, a suburb of Rochester. Kenneth does have a job, at the Yellowed Pages bookshop, where Sam the proprietor is more than happy to accept the odd conversation between Kenny and Bert, but the status quo takes a turn when Sam is forced to sell the shop due to a health concern. And as anyone with anxiety will tell you, when the status quo changes, it’s scary, but it’s also sometimes necessary. What feels like a groove might sometimes be a rut, and Kenneth is forced to do something so that he can keep affording his nightly Mai Tais at Wally’s. That’s where Corrina comes in, one of the waitresses at the bar. Her suggestion for him to try to get a job at the Primary Trust bank sets into motion a series of events that proves that by taking risks, building relationships, extending trust, and leaning on friends, it’s possible to overcome anything. Primary Trust is a wonderfully written piece that is short at 90 minutes, emotional and sweet, and will leave you feeling so much better about yourself and the world, though at times in the play it does seem a bit dicey.

Primary Trust is such a well written and constructed story, and to be effective it needs a suitable storyteller. Stephen Tyrone Williams is Kenneth in this production and he does alternate between storyteller and character. His performance is extremely versatile and good. His ability to chronicle his character’s story is excellent. He has an intimacy about this part of his performance, a confidence that draws the audience in and makes them believe that this is truly Stephen’s life he’s talking about. On the other hand, as the character Kenneth, he displays the social and general anxiety perfectly, as well as the other requisite emotions called on by this portrayal. There’s joy at the garnering of a new job, there’s anger when he’s faced with another loss, there’s a certain contentment when he’s recounting the trauma of his past, and there’s an undercurrent of sadness and loneliness that informs all of these. It’s a complicated portrayal that hits its high mark emotionally when he’s faced with the potential of yet another loss in his life later in the play. Stephen navigates the emotions of this character so convincingly well, while at the same time maintaining his composure in the capacity of the show’s narrator. Stephen is surrounded by a multi-dimensional supporting cast as well. Andrew Lee Creech is his Kenneth’s imaginary friend Bert, who is ever present, sometimes in the background and sometimes not. Bert is that voice of confidence and positivity in Kenneth’s life, his cheerleader. He’s also self-aware, an imaginary friend who knows who he is and has Kenneth’s best interests at heart, even when it comes to a potentially difficult choice. Andrew somehow in his performance is clearly on stage, but is also clearly only present in Kenneth’s mind. Credit here of course goes to Andrew, but also to the way Kaytlin positions him onstage, differently whether he’s at the forefront of Kenneth’s attention or simply present in his mind. Rob Burgess plays grumpy chain smoking bookshop owner Sam and the nostalgic ex-college football player and bank manager Clay. Rob’s characters each play important parts in Kenneth’s journey, but Rob himself is responsible for some of the funniest moments in the show, especially as Clay. He’s also hilarious in an all too brief stint as a maitre’d at Le Pousselet, but honestly a lot of that comes from the quality of his other roles, just seeing him serving at a French restaurant is enough to garner some laughs before he actually does anything. There’s also a serious aspect to his Sam and Clay. They each have extremely good hearts, and at the end of the day those are their purest qualities, and the ones that have the most impact on Kenneth and the story, and work so well here because of Rob’s very well rounded performances. Finally, there is Allyson Lee Brown with perhaps the most versatile of all of the performances here. She is Corrina, the one waitress who gets Kenneth to apply at Primary Trust, but she’s also every other waiter, male and female, at Wally’s. She’s also every single type of bank customer one could imagine, young, old, polite, angry, male, female, and Allyson plays all of these so uniquely, each one with a different voice or accent and a varied set of mannerisms. Her performance here shows a nice agility as an actor, especially in a few scenes, one when Kenneth is practicing his bank teller skills, or another later when she’s multiple bar waiters at the same time, when she switches back and forth between the multiple characters very quickly. It’s her strength as Corrina, though, where Allyson excels and truly makes an impact in Primary Trust. Her scene with Stephen when Kenneth and Corrina meet for a drink at Le Pousselet and he opens up to her about his past is perhaps the most poignant and heartfelt scene of the play, and this is in large part due to the way Allyson’s Corrina disarms Kenneth and allows him to really be himself more than he’s been able to without Bert around. It’s quite a magical moment between these two actors.

Meanwhile, Kaytlin’s design for Primary Trust is one surprise after another. As the show starts, and Stephen begins his monologue, providing Kenneth’s history, his backdrop is a two dimensional placard with signs representing the various locations in Cranberry, but when Wally’s Tiki Bar slides out from stage left, everything changes. An-lin Dauber, it turns out, has left nothing out on this set design. The tiki bar is everything one would hope, it’s well appointed with just the right amount of decorations for the space, photos on the wall, tiki mugs lining the ceiling and the bar, nautical accoutrements, and plenty of bamboo and neon. Much of the important action takes place at the bar, but it’s not the only setting. There’s the bank, with Clay’s office that spins out from behind that wall of signs, and a teller desk that is pushed on from stage right, each simple but good for what they are, as are the set pieces used to represent the bookstore, the outdoor area where Kenneth goes when he takes a walk, and the French restaurant. The tiki bar is clearly the highlight of the set design, but it’s also the most important part of Kenneth’s life. Kaytlin’s team has also designed a creative way to show the passing of time or the changing of focus within a scene. Within the bar, to represent the passage of time, a bell rings, lights change, and a sign rotates through to a new daily special. At the bank, fluorescent lights flash and a different tone sounds, while at the French restaurant yet another tone sounds. It’s a nice confluence of light design (serena wong), sound design (Fan Zhang), and acting to make these changes work as instantly as they do. This speaks to the hard work, time, and preparation that Kaytlin, her cast, crew, and creative team have put into this production getting ready for opening night. It’s nice to see when a show comes together like this and you know it’s ready for audiences, as Primary Trust most certainly is. A final piece of the puzzle is local musician, actor, playwright, and master of all things musical theater Justin Huertas, who Kaytlin has employed to provide the live underscore for Primary Trust. There’s something about live music, and having Justin provide his accompaniment through his cello, guitar, piano, and ukulele playing adds a bit of realism to the show that wouldn’t otherwise be there. Having him here is just one more good creative decision, along with the others mentioned above and Tina McCartney’s strong costume design.

Primary Trust shows us how we don’t have to handle our loss, hurt, and trauma on our own if we have love and friendship and aren’t afraid to, yes, trust in our relationships. Leaning on each other, we can get through anything, and when a play is this well written, this creatively designed, and this well acted, it’s sure to be something that we can all take something away from. Directed by Kaytlin McIntyre and featuring Stephen Tyrone Williams in an emotionally complex role that is sure to resonate, Primary Trust is short, sweet, and the kind of light that we all need in our lives right now.

Primary Trust runs on the Leo K. Theatre stage at Seattle Rep through November 24. For more information, including ticket availability and sales, visit https://www.seattlerep.org/.

Photo credit: Bronwen Houck