Primary Trust--A Beautifully Subtle New Play

        By Joseph Cervelli

Watching Eboni Booth's beautifully subtle and very touching new play "Primary Trust" at The Laura Pels Theater,  I was reminded of playwright Thornton Wilder. In its own way this work has the same very quiet effects of Wilder's plays most notably "Our Town." Very different certainly, but the meaning of the play creeps up on you very slowly. I kept wondering where exactly this was going but hopeful that  Booth would not disappoint us. And the playwright never does. My regret was not seeing her prior play "Paris."

When you enter the theater there is a guitar player (Luke Wygodny) on stage who also plays other instruments and marks the play's passage of time by tapping a bell. The time of the play the program states is "before cell phones." The miniature sets of a restaurant, shoe store, church, etc. are cleverly designed by Marsha Ginsberg. 

Kenneth (an unforgettable William Jackson Parker) is a genial young man in his late 30's who had a very difficult early life with his single mother dying when he was a youngster. He stayed with her body for quite a while in their home until someone came. He grew up in foster care with no friends not even in later life. 

However, he does have one friend Bert (a very good Eric Berryman.) The only issue here is Bert exists in his head. Yes, your mind will go to the show "Harvey" but this is not the same. Bert helps our hero keep it together. They have many conversations which are humorous and when Kenneth gets upset it is Bert who keeps him grounded. 

The always wonderful Jay O. Sanders as Sam (playing a variety of characters) offers Kenneth a job at his bookstore. He forms a familial relationship with Kenneth and his wife and works for him for about 20 years before Sam announces he is closing up shop and moving to Arizona for health reasons.  

Sanders also portrays Clay who works for the bank Primary Trust and  interviews Kenneth for the job. Although he has no experience Clay takes a liking to him and Kenneth becomes the shining star of the bank.

The other character is the server at the neighborhood restaurant/bar Wally's superbly played by April Matthis. In a difficult role she changes her persona from one server to the next. It is done so easily that you are taken back how adept she can do this. Even when she is a customer in the bank she switches from female to male customer. 

If all of this sounds like not much is happening you are right because what you are seeing is basically a slice of life account of a young man whose life is very uneventful. But then something occurs during the latter part of the play that turns things around. Your first thought is that our hero is going to fall in love with the server. I won't reveal if that is the way Booth is going but this is not an everyday love story. It is about the love and confidence that you first need to find in yourself. How a play that begins with such simplicity can evoke a lot of discussion at the end is the knack of a playwright who can delve into the soul of her character in which you actually wish you knew this man is a rare feat. 

But that is due primarily to Harper whose various emotions grip you from the start. Kenneth is such an amenable character that you feel his has overcome his difficult childhood and having this alter ego is a great asset. Well, we can only rely on someone real or imaginary for a while but need to find our own way in the world which he has not done until forced to. Suddenly, Kenneth displays another side of himself when he know things cannot be the same, and Harper is so believable that he makes you want to reach out and comfort his character. 

The title of the plays is a very smart one since it not only refers to the name of the bank, but something else more meaningful which if you give it some thought will discover at the conclusion of the 95 minutes. 

Directed with charm and poignancy by Knud Adams the  play is one to embrace and a performance by Harper we need to cherish. 

PHOTOS: JOAN MARCUS

Tickets are available at the Laura Pels Theatre 111 West 46th Street. As of this writing the show's limited engagement ends July 2.