Primary Trust

Westport Country Playhouse

By: Karen Isaacs - Apr 26, 2026

 

From the moment Alphonso Walker, Jr., walks down the aisle and onto the stage, I was riveted. Walker is playing Kenneth in the excellent production of Primary Trust now at Westport Country Playhouse through Saturday, May 2.

The performance is nuanced and the direction by Logan Vaughn is so sure-footed that you will be absorbed by his story. Kenneth, who is 38, has had a traumatic past that has left him wounded and alone. It is possible that he is also on the autism spectrum. His set routine in the small town of Cranberry, NY – about 40 miles from Rochester, he tells us – is shattered when the owner of the used bookstore he has worked at announces he is selling it to developers and moving to Arizona.

Kenneth has no idea how to get a job or where. But he has a friend, Bert, who hangs out with him nightly at Wally’s Tiki Bar in town where Kenneth drinks Mai Tai. The closing of the store propels to emerge from his shell. He may not be comfortable talking to people, but slowly and surely, he is forced to. He starts talking with Corinna, one of the waitresses. She suggests her apply for a job at the local bank, Primary Trust, which he does. But he needs Bert’s help to respond appropriately during the interview with the manager, Clay. It’s a step in the right direction; Clay sees something in Kenneth and he is hired. That leads to Kenneth discovering his confidence and much more about his abilities and strengths.

Playwright Eloni Booth allows the story to move at its own pace; Kenneth’s changes aren’t a straight line. At times, he regresses – into his solitary life or his frustrations. Like all of us, progress comes in fits and starts.

Walker is superb as Kenneth. Director Vaughn allows for pauses and moments of silence and Walker displays Kenneth’s emotional state in slight changes of expression. The pauses are never too long; they seem as natural as the performance.

Lance Coadie Williams plays his friend, Bert, who is his social bridge to the world that Kenneth finds intimidating. So, intimidating that he never accepted the invitation to share Thanksgiving dinner with the owner of the bookstore, despite Kenneth being the only employee.

Williams creates an empathetic Bert who understands, helps but does not coddle or overprotect him.

You root for Kenneth as emerges and hope that his major setback doesn’t destroy everything.

Jasminn Johnson plays Corrinna as well as several wait staff members of Wally’s and multiple customers at the bank. Her Corrina is sweet and empathetic.  Greg Stuhr shines as Clay, Kenneth’s boss at the bank, but is also excellent as Sam, the bookstore owner and a waiter at a French restaurant.  

Jonah Bobilin created a lighting design that at several points becomes a curtain behind Kenneth, who sometimes sits on the edge of the stage, talking to us.

This is a production well worth seeing. Tickets are available at WestportPlayhouse.org or by calling 203-227-4177.

From the moment Alphonso Walker, Jr., walks down the aisle and onto the stage, I was riveted. Walker is playing Kenneth in the excellent production of Primary Trust now at Westport Country Playhouse through Saturday, May 2.

The performance is nuanced and the direction by Logan Vaughn is so sure-footed that you will be absorbed by his story. Kenneth, who is 38, has had a traumatic past that has left him wounded and alone. It is possible that he is also on the autism spectrum. His set routine in the small town of Cranberry, NY – about 40 miles from Rochester, he tells us – is shattered when the owner of the used bookstore he has worked at announces he is selling it to developers and moving to Arizona.

Kenneth has no idea how to get a job or where. But he has a friend, Bert, who hangs out with him nightly at Wally’s Tiki Bar in town where Kenneth drinks Mai Tai. The closing of the store propels to emerge from his shell. He may not be comfortable talking to people, but slowly and surely, he is forced to. He starts talking with Corinna, one of the waitresses. She suggests her apply for a job at the local bank, Primary Trust, which he does. But he needs Bert’s help to respond appropriately during the interview with the manager, Clay. It’s a step in the right direction; Clay sees something in Kenneth and he is hired. That leads to Kenneth discovering his confidence and much more about his abilities and strengths.

Playwright Eloni Booth allows the story to move at its own pace; Kenneth’s changes aren’t a straight line. At times, he regresses – into his solitary life or his frustrations. Like all of us, progress comes in fits and starts.

Walker is superb as Kenneth. Director Vaughn allows for pauses and moments of silence and Walker displays Kenneth’s emotional state in slight changes of expression. The pauses are never too long; they seem as natural as the performance.

Lance Coadie Williams plays his friend, Bert, who is his social bridge to the world that Kenneth finds intimidating. So, intimidating that he never accepted the invitation to share Thanksgiving dinner with the owner of the bookstore, despite Kenneth being the only employee.

Williams creates an empathetic Bert who understands, helps but does not coddle or overprotect him.

You root for Kenneth as emerges and hope that his major setback doesn’t destroy everything.

Jasminn Johnson plays Corrinna as well as several wait staff members of Wally’s and multiple customers at the bank. Her Corrina is sweet and empathetic.  Greg Stuhr shines as Clay, Kenneth’s boss at the bank, but is also excellent as Sam, the bookstore owner and a waiter at a French restaurant.  

Jonah Bobilin created a lighting design that at several points becomes a curtain behind Kenneth, who sometimes sits on the edge of the stage, talking to us.

This is a production well worth seeing. Tickets are available at WestportPlayhouse.org or by calling 203-227-4177.