by Joanne Engelhardt

A large sign that says “Welcome Friend: You’re Right on Time. CRANBERRY New York, USA” is indeed welcoming Lucie Stern Theater audiences in Palo Alto these days. Theatergoers can’t help but notice a fascinating curved map that is the town of Cranberry, showing  Main Street, Broadway, Walnut Street and First Street and some of the buildings on those streets.

But within a minute or two after the play begins, all that goes away.  Instead, the scene shifts to a cozy bar called Wally’s with high tables and cane chairs. Kenneth (Kenny in early scenes) sits at a table with his best friend, Bert, both sipping on what Kenneth says are the best-darned Mai Tais anywhere.  Even better, they’re there during Happy Hour when Mai Tais are 2 for 1!

As 38-year-old Kenneth, William Thomas Hodgson is about as disarming and delightful as can be.  Turns out Hodgson is both the primary actor in this 2024 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama and the narrator of his character’s life story.

Yes, “Primary Trust” is a drama but it’s sprinkled with so many funny lines and situations that on opening night, the filled auditorium exploded in laughter time and time again.

Quite a few of those zingers come out of the mouth of Rolanda D. Bell, a delightfully devilish actor who plays both Corrina — a waitress at Wally’s –and a dozen or two other personas who whisk in and out of  various scenes with the speed of Roadrunner. Bell alone is worth the price of a ticket if she were just doing her many parts in a solo show!

These two actors — along with veteran actor Dan Hiatt who first plays Kenneth’s boss Sam at a bookstore where Kenneth has worked for 20+ years, then morphs into Kenneth’s boss, Clay, at Primary Trust Bank.  Clay recognizes that Kenneth has potential as a bank teller, even though he has no experience, so he takes a chance and hires him.

Suddenly Kenneth realizes he has to grow up a bit and even wear suitable outfits that are the right look for a bank employee. But he also realizes he’s not going to be able to meet his best friend, Burt (Kenny Scott) for Happy Hour Mai Tai’s any more.  And he certainly can’t continue to drink so many of them that he has a hangover when he goes to work at the bank the next morning.

Jeffrey Lo, who works as TheatreWorks’ associate producer of casting and literary management, directs this production with the care and gentleness requiired to offset its many frothy moments.

Though he’s rarely even seen, pianist Jonathan Erman plays the piano in muted darkness during many scenes.  His music is one of many warm touches that enhance the overall ambiance of Booth’s comedic drama.

The play includes a number of back stories that are intertwined with the present day, yet all seem to come together by play’s end.

Running about 90 minutes with no intermission, “Primary Trust” is worth the time it takes to absorb the kindness and humanity that crop up in every scene.

A surprise element of “Trust” is Christopher Fitzer’s unique scenic design. Some of it is described above, but there are also many scenes when desks and chairs are zipped away in a few seconds, only to be replaced by other scenery that zooms centerstage from the back or other side of the stage.

Primary Trust runs through March 29 at Lucie Stern Theater in Palo Alto. 

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Rating: ***1/2 (For an explanation of TheatreStorm’s rating system, click here.)
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“Primary Trust” by Eboni Booth. Director: Jeffrey Lo. Scenic designer: Christopher Fitzer. Costume Designer: Becky Bodurtha. Lighting Designer: Steven B. Mannshardt. Sound Designer: Gregory Robinson. Wig & Hair Design: Roxie Johnson. Artist Counselor: Judith Nihei. Stage Manager: Laura Hicks Perreault. Assistant Lighting Designer: Edward Hunter. Wig Assistant: Leilani Norman.

Cast 

Kenneth: William Thomas Hodgson; Corrina/Others: Rolanda D. Bell; Clay/Sam/Others: Dan Hiatt; Bert: Kenny Scott; Musician: Jonathan Erman; Understudy for Kenneth and Bert; Understudy for Clay/Sam/Others: Joseph Alvarado; Understudy for Corrina/Others: Nadja M