Eboni Booth’s Pulitzer Prize winning Primary Trust is currently one of the most performed plays regionally. It is the kind of work that people say leaves them “shattered,” “undone” and “wrecked” and they mean that in a good way. The New York Premiere was my return to live theater after more than three years because of COVID. The themes explored, especially when delivered by the incomparable William Jackson Harper, could not have provided a more perfect balm. Though written in May of 2023, that review remains my second most read. (You can read it for yourself here: https://theunforgettableline.com/2023/05/30/primary-trust/)
To celebrate the printing of the Primary Trust script, TCG, dramatic literature’s largest independent trade publisher, presented an evening with Ms. Booth. The book’s cover shows a small town street with each side mirrored in the other, beautifully reflecting the feelings evoked by the original set design.
The evening opened with a short reading by Harper accompanied by original composer/perform Luke Wygodny on cello and the bell meant to represent the way in which our thoughts frequently interrupt themselves. These scenes gave newcomers a taste of Primary Trust’s beauty and provided a strong reminder to anyone who saw the full production.
The conversation was hosted by another recognizable actress turned playwright, Heidi Schreck (What the Constitution Means to Me). Both women have participated in the collaborative incubator, Clubbed Thumb, and are raising families in New York City. This provided plenty of common ground. The two comfortably chatted as if in their own local tiki bar about writing, acting, and what keeps them up at night.
Ms. Booth came to playwriting in her late 30s when she pivoted away from acting and got herself into an advanced program at Juilliard in Manhattan. She is honest about her sometimes clumsy first steps and counts David Adair and Marsha Norman among her teachers/guides to success.
As with most powerful work, Primary Trust arose from a genuine place both personally and professionally. Booth believes in the power of kindness from strangers, vividly remembering an encounter on the subway when the person next to her saw her crying and offered a tissue. The notion that small steps can be life changing eventually grew into lead character Kenneth’s way of being. By tapping into the discomfort left by prolonged COVID isolation and the need for tenderness towards one another, the audience became deeply invested in his wellbeing.
All four cast members have rich material to work with. As a former struggling actress, Ms. Booth has distrain for the type of roles that serve a plot purpose but don’t give the performer anything meaty to do. Booth’s style is more like that of a fiction writer, with long prosaic passages. Shreck speculated that the radical structure of the play was likely one element that drew the attention of the Pulitzer jury and ultimately won her the prize.
The event took place at the Center for Fiction, a 200 year old cultural non-profit in Brooklyn that promotes the values of engaging with fiction at all levels. It was streamed through their YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@TheCenterforFiction/streams) and will soon be available to view.
The Unforgettable Line 