Westport Country Playhouse Will Stage PRIMARY TRUST in April

Westport Country Playhouse will stage the 2024 Pulitzer Prize-winning play, “Primary Trust,” a gentle and inspiring exploration of friendship, courage, and new beginnings, from April 14 through May 2, the fourth in the Playhouse's 2025-26 Season of six works. Selected as a Critic's Pick by The New York Times, “Primary Trust” is written by Eboni Booth and directed by Logan Vaughn. With subtle humor and emotional depth, the play examines the importance of human connection, the power of kindness, and the essential trust needed to navigate life's changes.   

“As a recent Pulitzer Prize-winning play and one of the most celebrated new works in Modern American Theatre, ‘Primary Trust' has resonated with audiences across the country,” said Mark Shanahan, Playhouse artistic director. “There's a good reason this work has been so widely embraced. It's a play about kindness and healing - exactly the kind of story we need to hear right now. Filled with heart, humor, and vibrant small-town characters, it's a play that will linger long after the curtain falls.”

“Primary Trust” centers on Kenneth, a lonely 38-year-old man living in the small town of Cranberry, New York. Kenneth is something of a failure to launch, never quite stepping into full independence or adult responsibility. A creature of habit, he spends every evening sipping mai tais at the local tiki bar with Bert, his Best Friend – who happens to be imaginary. When Kenneth is suddenly laid off from his lifelong job in a bookstore, his world is upended. Facing a reality he's long avoided, Kenneth is forced to leave the comfort of his imagination and learn to trust beyond the barstool. He musters courage to take a new job at the Primary Trust Bank with transformative, and even sweetly comical, results.  

“This uplifting, wonderfully moving story of friendship, community, and resilience to overcome challenges is directed by the visionary Logan Vaughn and brought to life by an accomplished cast and a stunning visual design that will light up the Playhouse stage in unexpected ways,” said Shanahan.

The four-member cast includes Jasminn Johnson as Corrina/Wally's Waiter/Bank Customers (Broadway: “Ain't No Mo”; Off-Broadway: “Nina,” “The Slow Dance,” “Blues for an Alabama Sky”; Regional: “Crumbs from the Table of Joy,” “Tornado Tastes like Aluminum Sting,” “Blues for an Alabama Sky” - Berkshire Theater Award Nominee, “Twelfth Night”; TV/Film: "Motherland,” "The Equalizer,” "The Politician"; Training: Juilliard; Greg Stuhr as Clay/Sam/Le Pousselet Bartender (Broadway and Netflix: “Good Night, and Good Luck” with George Clooney; Other Broadway: “The Minutes,” “Fish in the Dark,” “November,” “Taller Than a Dwarf,” “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee”; Film/Television: “The Night Agent,” “Power Book III: Raising Kanan,” co-writer/director of “The American Side,” co-creator/writer of the pilot “Luba's Lot”); Alphonso Walker Jr. as Kenneth (Broadway: “Pass Over,” “The Skin of Our Teeth”; TV: “Chicago PD,” “Law & Order,” “Power Book II: Ghost,” “Blue Bloods,” “The Equalizer,” “East New York,” “Wu-Tang: An American Saga.”; degree in psychology with a special interest in motivational speaking; actor, producer, and writer from Buffalo, NY; Instagram: @awalkerjr); and Lance Coadie Williams as Bert (Broadway: Pulitzer Prize winner “Sweat,” “Kiss Me Kate”; Off-Broadway: “Chiaroscuro,” “The Refuge Plays,” “Black Odyssey,” “War,” “Shows for Days,” “Sweat,” “BootyCandy” - Obie Award; Regional: Baltimore Center Stage, Wilma Theatre, Studio Theatre, Everyman Theatre, Woolly Mammoth; Film/Television: “The Good Fight.” “Elementary,” “High Maintenance,” “The Wire”; Education: BFA, SUNY Purchase, Baltimore School for the Arts).

Director Logan Vaughn is a New York-based director and writer who blends her talents in both film and theater. Most recently, her short film, “Benny & James,” was awarded LGBTQ Film of the Year at the Los Angeles Indie Short Fest and Best SAG Indie at the 19th Annual Oscar-Qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival. “Benny & James” premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival where it received the Jury Award for Best LGBTQ+ Short Film at The American Pavilion, and Vaughn was also awarded Best Director in the Diversity at Cannes Short Film Showcase, along with Best Cinematography and Best Cast. As a theater director, Vaughn has worked with The Public Theater, MCC Theater, and many more. Vaughn was a Director in Residence at Playwrights Horizon, a Sundance Institute Fellow, Goodman Theatre's Joyce Arts Fellow, and Director's Lab at Lincoln Center Fellow. She was nominated for Best Direction of a Play by the Outer Critics Circle (“The Light,” MCC Theater) and won Broadway World's 2019 Outstanding Play Production for the World Premiere of “America V. 2.1: The Sad Demise and Eventual Extinction of the American Negro” (Barrington Stage). Vaughn was the associate artistic director of Ojai Playwrights Conference for four seasons and was the associate director of the First National Broadway Tour of “Ain't Too Proud -The Life and Times of the Temptations.”

Playwright Eboni Booth is a writer and actor from New York City. She won the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play “Primary Trust.” Her play “Paris” had its premiere at the Atlantic Theater Company. “Paris” was performed as a Script in Hand playreading at Westport Country Playhouse last year.  Her work has been developed with Ojai Playwrights Conference, Cape Cod Theater Project, WP Theater, Two River Theater, Clubbed Thumb, and Northern Stage. As an actress, she has appeared in productions at Playwrights Horizons, Manhattan Theater Club, and more. Booth is a resident playwright at New Dramatists and a recipient of a Steinberg Playwright Award, a Helen Merrill Award for Playwriting, and a John Gassner Award. She is a graduate of Juilliard's playwriting program and the University of Vermont.

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