Cast and Creative Team Set for PRIMARY TRUST at Signature Theatre

Signature Theatre has revealed the cast and creative team for the DC premiere of Primary Trust, the 2024 Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Eboni Booth. The production will be directed by Taylor Reynolds (Playwrights Horizons’ Tambo & Bones, Woolly Mammoth’s The Sensational Sea Mink-ettes). Performances run September 10 – October 20, 2024 in Signature’s ARK Theatre.

Tickets start at $40 and are available at SigTheatre.org.

“When I first read Primary Trust, I fell in love with Eboni Booth’s sweetly moving play about forging new connections and seeing the world in a new light,” said Signature’s Artistic Director Matthew Gardiner. “It soon became clear that I wasn’t the only one who loved this play – Primary Trust was the 2024 winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. I’m excited to welcome Taylor Reynolds to direct this DC premiere here at Signature. Taylor is no stranger to DC audiences, having directed critically-acclaimed productions at Studio Theatre and Woolly Mammoth, and I can’t wait to see how she brings this beautiful story to life in our intimate ARK Theatre.”

Primary Trust is a touching and funny story of finding connection and moving forward that won the 2024 Pulitzer Prize. Wally’s Tiki Bar serves the sweetest mai tais in town, and Kenneth never misses a happy hour with his best friend. But when a job loss upends Kenneth’s static existence, he must discover the courage to open a new door and change his life – even if it means facing the past and letting go. A New York Times Critic’s Pick, this DC premiere is a beautiful and tender journey towards new beginnings and seeing the world for the first time.

“In a theatrical landscape where plays and musicals are getting bigger and flashier, Primary Trust stands out as an intimate space for audiences to examine our relationship to loneliness, grief, and our desire for connection together,” said Director Taylor Reynolds. “Playwright Eboni Booth gives us a guide through this examination in Kenneth, a Black man in a mostly white town in a time before cell phones. Through him, we are able to question for ourselves, “How does anyone accomplish the impossible and wonderful feat of making a friend?” Immersing myself in the world of Primary Trust has given me the opportunity to open up conversations around collective loneliness and grief in my communities. We are all walking around holding so much and may often feel like we have to bear it alone. My hope is that this play lightens that load and highlights the resiliency within us all. I am delighted to direct Eboni's Pulitzer Prize-winning play and overjoyed to work at Signature and return to the DC area.”

The production stars Julius Thomas III (Broadway's The Scottsboro Boys, National Tour of Hamilton) as Kenneth, Frank Britton (1st Stage’s Jesus Hopped The ‘A’ Train, Round House Theatre’s Two Trains Running) as Bert, Yesenia Iglesias (Signature’s Daphne’s Dive, Arena Stage’s POTUS) as Corinna and others, Craig Wallace (Shakespeare Theatre Company’s King Lear, Ford’s Theatre’s A Christmas Carol) as Clay and others. Ezinne Elele (Theater Alliance’s This Girl Laughs, This Girl Cries, This Girl Does Nothing) and Jeremy Keith Hunter (Avant Bard’s Topdog/Underdog) are understudies.

The creative team for Primary Trust includes Scenic Design by Misha Kachman (Signature’s Cabaret, Woolly Mammoth’s My Mama and the Full-Scale Invasion), Costume Design by Danielle Preston (Signature’s Penelope, Round House Theatre’s Topdog Underdog), Lighting Design by Venus Gulbranson (Woolly Mammoth’s My Mama and the Full-Scale Invasion, Monumental’s Tick, Tick… Boom), and Sound Design & Original Music by Frederick Kennedy (Baltimore Center Stage’s The Folks at Home, American Conservatory Theater’s Every Brilliant Thing). Casting is by Jorge Acevedo. New York Casting is by Geoff Josselson, CSA. Kate Kilbane is the Production Stage Manager and Majenta Thomas is the Production Assistant. 

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