Reviews

La Jolla Playhouse Hosts West Coast Premiere of Pulitzer Prize Winner, “Primary Trust”

octubre 5, 2024

A Raw and Moving Performance that Makes This Play One of the Best of the Playhouse Season Yet

A Blog View by Alejandra Enciso-Dardashti

James Urbaniak, Caleb Eberhardt, and James Udom in La Jolla Playhouse’s West Coast premiere production of PRIMARY TRUST; photo by Rich Soublet II.

In television, especially in the live newscasts or -Saturday Night Live- the “cold-open” is often used at the top. La Jolla Playhouse’s latest production Primary Trust, starts with a form of cold-open with the house lights on and Kenneth the lead, played by Caleb Eberhardt, starts narrating the story. Keneth lives in the small town of Cranberry, New York, is a loner, 38, and has worked at a bookstore for the past 20 years. A true creature of habit, after work he goes to happy hour every day with his best friend Bert (James Udom) at his favorite, Wally’s Tiki Bar and they drink mai tais. Sometimes, more than they can count. Keneth meets Corrina (Rebecca S’manga Frank) a new waitress at Wally’s amid sudden changes coming to his life. Getting out of his comfort zone or more of in survival mode, Keneth navigates these new stages while dealing with childhood trauma and going through the motions with the help of his friends and bosses played by James Urbaniak.

Caleb Eberhardt and Rebecca S’manga Frank in PRIMARY TRUST; photo by Knud Adams.

Marsha Ginsburg’s clever set design was similar to David Rockwell’s design for Sasha Velour’s show, using scaled or miniature buildings to illustrate the town. Ginsburg also uses a run-down carpet for the town floor and everything happening around Kenneth, like meetings with his boss, his shifts at work, and so on. The frames around the buildings have dry, brown grass, so this aspect with the design’s lack of color and the carpet evokes the routine accompanied by the hollowness in this man’s life. It might not be very colorful but it is detailed as there is a church where candles can be seen on the inside and they go on and off which was super cute. Wally’s has a lit-up sign that also goes on and off. Masha Tsimring’s lighting is matte with winter colors like gray, and blue, contrasting at times with yellows and oranges that set the tone and feeling of the scenes.

Mikaal Sulaiman’s sound design not only coats the scenes and has everyone’s lines come through, but it is also an indicator as Luke Wygodny is a silent musician who plays guitar, keyboard, and cello during the performance, with a bell that is rung to pace/mark what-ifs and shifts to what is happening. Sophia Choi’s costume design matches the set as most characters wear earthy colors that hint at the season and the feel. One character wears a more colorful wardrobe fitting the storytelling and making sense.

Written by Eboni Booth, this play is one of the best of The Playhouse’s season. Booth dives into the life of an older adult who grew up in the foster care system, checking the reactions and -apparently-, the coping mechanisms, balancing the story out with good people and hard-earned success while not making it feel like a fairytale. It is raw and moving.

Caleb Eberhardt’s performance is endearing. Through Knud Adams’s direction, Kenneth’s feelings and process are revealed organically. It could not have been done any other way as changing the rhythm would have been too much to handle. James Urbaniak’s portrayal of Kenneth’s two bosses is harmonious, funny, and authentic. Everyone should have a boss like Clay or Sam and Urbaniak captures that. Rebecca S’manga Frank’s as Corrina brings freshness to the scenes, variety, and fun to the different servers she plays for Wally’s. James Udom rounds out the catharsis in this story by sprinkling stage charm within the events.

This play won the Pulitzer Prize for a reason. It could be triggering for some people but, at the same time, it is brought with such delicacy and care, that it is all worth it in the end. A full-on time of release and reflection at the theatre.

Currently playing until October 20th. For more information please CLICK HERE.