Primary Trust

 B+

Eboni Booth’s (Paris, “Julia”) new play at Roundabout’s Laura Pels Theatre has much to recommend it, including a superb cast, a wonderful set, lovely musical accompaniment and sensitive direction. My reservations about it originate with the script, which takes a long time to reveal where it is leading us and is sparing with its dramatic moments. The acting could not be better. William Jackson Harper (After the Blast, “The Good Place”), playing Kenneth, a 38-year-old loner whose hard-won stability is suddenly undermined when the job he has held for 20 years disappears, is so likeable and vivid that he immediately draws us in. Eric Berryman (Toni Stone) makes a believable person out of Kenneth’s longtime imaginary friend Bert. The always excellent Jay O. Sanders (Uncle Vanya, Rhinebeck Panorama) makes the most out of three roles, Kenneth’s past employer, his new employer and a snooty waiter in a white tablecloth restaurant. April Matthis (Toni Stone, The Piano Lesson) plays Corrina, a waiter at Kenneth’s favorite bar who tries to befriend him, as well as other waitpersons and bank customers whom she convincingly inhabits. Luke Wygodny (Hundred Days), on keyboard, guitar and cello, provides unobtrusive but welcome music to support the action. Marsha Ginsberg’s (English) delightful set presents miniature versions of the buildings surrounding the town square of Cranberry, NY. A feature of Qween Jean’s (Black No More) costumes is the use of changing shoes to represent different social roles. Knud Adams (English) directs with sensitivity. One problem that I had was that Harper made Kenneth such a sympathetic character that it was difficult to realize how troubled he really was. A minor annoyance was the overuse of a service desk bell to punctuate scenes. The excellence of the acting makes it well worth seeing. Running time: 95 minutes; no intermission.