"Owens is on stage for the entire 95-minute run time of Primary Trust, guiding us into Kenneth's perspective on his world. Kenneth is an unobtrusive bit player in his small town, a fictional suburb of Rochester, New York - but in this play, he is the protagonist. All of the action revolves around him. It's quite a shift in focus for an unobtrusive Black man in a small town dominated by white people to be the focal point of the story."
"Reasons for concern about Kenneth emerge from his own narration - and Owens, practiced at operating on multiple levels, conveys that Kenneth is not entirely unaware of those reasons for concern. He confesses early on that his best friend is invisible to anyone but him. He knows this, and doesn't find it especially troubling. Bert's friendship is real to him, and functions as an anchor in the life he has managed to construct."
"Winner of the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Eboni Booth's play invites audiences into the world of Kenneth, a damaged 38-year-old man who has managed to live quietly under the radar of his small town until events push him a bit more out into the open. It's clear that the play resonates with audiences; its productions have inspired praise in a range of cities."
Primary Trust, winner of the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, centers on Kenneth, a damaged 38-year-old Black man living quietly in a fictional Rochester suburb. Kenneth narrates his life, holding a two-decade bookstore job and nightly refuge at a tiki bar where he drinks Mai Tais with his best friend Bert, who is invisible to others. Larry Owens performs Kenneth onstage for the full 95-minute run, guiding the audience through Kenneth's perspective and ambiguous grasp on reality. The production foregrounds themes of racial invisibility, isolation, blurred mental boundaries, and the consequences of being overlooked in a predominantly white small town.
Read at Oregon ArtsWatch * Arts & Culture News
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