PRIMARY TRUST at Rep Theater Review

(L to R): Gregory Fenner as Kenneth, Kierra Bunch as Waitress, Ronald L. Conner as Bert, in "Primary Trust." Photo by Jon Gitchoff. Courtesy of the Repertory Theater of St. Louis

– By Cate Marquis –

After a season of outstanding productions from the Repertory Theater of St. Louis, we get yet one more shining gem, “Primary Trust,” playwright Eboni Booth’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play full of wit and heart, about friendship, trauma and new possibilities, about a likable man averse to change who is faced with life-altering events. “Primary Trust” may be the Rep’s best one yet this season, a play that will be remembered as the best of several seasons.

Mixing humor and humanity, and beautifully written in a relaxed, natural voice, it is clear why “Primary Trust” won a Pulitzer. The play starts out on the funny side, with the main character, a charming fellow named Kenneth (Gregory Fenner), telling us about himself, his hometown of Cranberry, a middle-sized suburb of Rochester, New York, and his life there. As Kenneth tells us, “This is the story of friendship. Of how I got a new job. A story of love and balance and time. And the smallest of chances.”

Kenneth lives in Cranberry, a middle-sized suburb of Rochester, New York, where he grew up with his single-parent mother and has lived all his life. Kenneth doesn’t know why she moved there; they have no relatives in the area. Now 38, Kenneth works at the bookstore where he got his first job, after he aged-out of foster care, where he was placed after his mother died. Kenneth feels his hometown has everything it needs, a grocery store, two banks, a library, a post office and a few bars and restaurants. While he lives alone, his days are filled with going to work at the bookstore, and afterwards, hanging out with Bert drinking Mai-Tais at the tiki bar.

Mai-Tais – yes, Kenneth loves them, those sweet “Hawaiian” cocktail with fruit and a little paper umbrella. Every night after work, Kenneth goes to his favorite bar, Wally’s, an old-fashioned tiki bar at the far end of town, and orders two Mai-Tais, for himself and his best friend Bert (Ronald L. Conner). And then another round, as he spends the whole night talking and having fun with best friend Bert.

His life is pretty simple but he likes that it is predictable and he’s not unhappy, as long as he has Bert. Kenneth does not like change, and all is good as long as he can drink Mai Tais and hang out with Bert.

Except Bert is imaginary. But this isn’t “Harvey,” Kenneth knows Bert is imaginary, and even Bert knows he’s imaginary.

Wally’s is the one place Kenneth can relax and just talk to Bert without anyone bothering him. The various waitresses at Wally’s (all played by Kierra Bunch) wait on him, bring his Mai Tais and pay no attention to his talking. That is somewhat true at the bookstore, where his kindly boss and friend Sam (Alan Knoll) is fine with Bert as long as Kenneth doesn’t talk to him in front of customers. Kenneth is settled in his ways, happy even as long as he has his best friend, Bert. Kenneth finds routine comforting, and doesn’t like change, which is upsetting, even scary for Kenneth.

But change does come, when Sam announces he’s closing the bookstore and retiring out-of-state. Which means Kenneth has to find a new job. A new waitress, Corrina (Kierra Bunch again), at Wally’s suggests Kenneth try one of the town’s banks, Primary Trust, and he sets up an interview with bank manager Clay (Alan Knoll again).

Kierra Bunch and Alan Knoll play several roles in this two-act play, directed by Tyrone Phillips, which takes Kenneth through this period of change. It is not just the stress of finding a new job, but a host of changes and adjustments that follow, re-opening the door to past trauma but opening the door to new beginnings too.

The naturalistic dialog is superb in this play, and the actors are excellent as well. The story takes place on a stage with an unusual set. A streetscape of classic city brick buildings hangs suspended and inverted over the stage, as if reflected in some unseen lake below. That set leaves the stage clear for the few props to create its locations – the bookshop, the tiki bar, the bank and others, while keeping the idea of an old small town street ever present in our minds. The effect is a bit strange but it works surprisingly well.

Everything is excellent about this production. Kenneth serving as narrator as well as a character in his own story, allows us to move in and out of narrative as needed, letting us get a deeper sense of Kenneth’s inner life. Gregory Fenner’s Kenneth is a sweet, gentle, down-to-earth charmer, and playwright Eboni Booth weaves a tale that draws us in, something magical, moving and deeply human, while sprinkling with bits of humor as needed. The story makes a sort of circle, and is an emotionally satisfying story about one person but also about human connections generally and the courage to try something new. Some of the dialog repeats from time to time, like a refrain in a song, and the whole plays is beautifully structured, almost like a poem or maybe a symmetrical piece of architecture, yet it all feels completely natural, real, and human.

It is hard to remember when I last saw a play that was such an involving, human, and uplifting play, that felt simple yet profound, and featured such perfect writing. This is a play that should not be missed.

“Primary Trust” is on stage at the Repertory Theater of St. Louis through Mar. 1, 2026.

© Cate Marquis