PRIMARY TRUST
By Eboni Booth
Directed by Amina Robinson
September 19 – October 5, 2025
“As tenderhearted as it is spryly comic and as poignant as it is ultimately uplifting.”
— Los Angeles Times
“It will restore your faith in the theatre’s elemental storytelling powers.”
— The Observer
Directed by Philadelphia’s own Amina Robinson and winner of the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Primary Trust is a tender, quietly powerful new play about rediscovery, resilience, and the invisible forces that carry us forward.
Kenneth lives a simple life in the small town of Cranberry, New York—working at a used bookstore by day and sharing Mai Tais at the local tiki bar with his best friend, Bert, by night. But when the bookstore suddenly closes, he’s forced to navigate the world anew.
Playwright Eboni Booth brings a delicate blend of humor and heart to this acclaimed character study, inviting us to believe in the possibility of starting over, no matter how long it takes.
Three Things to Know: 2025/26 Season
Primary Trust debuted Off-Broadway at the Roundabout Theatre Company in 2023 and received widespread critical acclaim, including the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Over the past year, it has become one of the most produced plays in America.
Director Amina Robinson is making her Philadelphia Theatre Company directorial debut, but has worked at a number of Philadelphia theaters, including the Arden, the Wilma, InterAct, and more. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Amina is the first Black woman to win a Barrymore Award for Best Direction of a Musical, which she has won twice.
This is PTC’s first production of playwright Eboni Booth’s work. In conversation with American Theatre, Booth emphasized the play’s theme of community: “We need each other, and I think that’s important. To be able to let people in is crucial.”
Check the Program
Primary Trust Program
Thursday, September 25 at 7PM with special programming beginning one hour prior to the performance
Join us for a Black Theatre Night centered on Black mental health. The evening will feature poetry, a short film, and a community discussion focused on mental health, workforce development, and how to support Black men as they navigate both.
Saturday, September 27 at 2PM
This performance offers live audio description for patrons who are blind or have low vision. Through a wireless headset, audience members receive a spoken account of the visual elements of the production, including actions, costumes, and scenery.
Sunday, September 28 at 3PM
This performance includes open captioning, displaying the spoken dialogue, sound effects, and other audio elements in real time on a screen visible from select seating areas.
Sunday, September 28 at 3PM following the performance
Join us for a post-show discussion exploring the unique challenges young people face as they transition out of the foster care system and into adulthood and the workforce.
Wednesday, October 1 at 1PM
This performance features live American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation by certified interpreters. Reserved seating is available to ensure optimal sightlines to the interpreters.
Wednesday, October 1 at 1PM, beginning one hour prior the performance
This interactive page-to-stage presentation explores the creative process behind bringing Primary Trust to life at PTC. The conversation will highlight the show’s themes, the plays that influenced its creation, and offer a sneak peek at the design choices featured onstage.
Thursday, October 2 at 7PM , beginning one hour prior to the performance
Join us for a salon-style performance featuring literary works by local authors that explore the themes found within Primary Trust.
Saturday, October 4th at 2pm
Drama Discovery Series is an ongoing series of theatre-based workshops and performances for youth ages 7- 11. Each childcare matinee will be an interactive hour-long workshop facilitated by local teaching artists and or arts organizations. If you have any questions, please contact the Box Office at 215.985.0420 x1 or email boxoffice@philatheatreco.org
Running Time
1 hour and 40 minutes, with no intermission
Age Recommendation
Ages 12+
VIDEO
CAST
PTC: Debut. Regional: On My Deen (InterAct Theatre Company); The Holy Grail of Memphis, The Big Friendly Giant (Arden Theatre Company); This Is The Week That Is (1812 Productions); Children of the Sun (Philly Artists Collective); RENT, Othello, Next to Normal (New Light Theatre Company). Awards: Five-time Barrymore Award nominee; F. Otto Haas Emerging Artist finalist. Affiliations: Co-founder of the Black Theatre Alliance of Philadelphia, and co-founder of New Light Theatre Company. Other Work: Appears in regional commercials. Works in clinical education at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Instagram: @Newtron_Bomb
Regional: Hamlet, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Cymbeline, The Merry Wives of Windsor (Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival); King Hedley II, A Streetcar Named Desire, NO CHILD… (2021 filmed production), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Arden Theatre Company); The Comeuppance, KISS, FAT HAM (2021 filmed world premiere), Dance Nation, Dionysus Was Such a Nice Man, Romeo and Juliet, Passage, Passing Strange (Wilma Theater); All My Mothers Dream in Spanish (Azuka Theatre); Shakespeare in Love, All My Sons (People’s Light). Awards: F. Otto Haas Emerging Philadelphia Theater Artist (2018); three-time Barrymore Award nominee. Affiliations: Founding member, Wilma Theater Hot House. Training: B.F.A., Arcadia University. More: tayshamariecanales.com
PTC: Choir Boy (Headmaster); Regional: King Hedley II, Intimate Apparel, The Lehman Trilogy, A Streetcar Named Desire, Tiny Beautiful Things, Gem of the Ocean, A Doll’s House (Barrymore Award for Outstanding Supporting Performance in a Play) (Arden Theatre). The Merry Wives of Windsor (Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival); The Arsonists (Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company); King John, District Merchants (The Folger Theatre); Buzzer (Theatre Exile); Marcus/Emma (InterAct Theatre Company); Lobby Hero, In the Blood (Theatre Horizon); The Brother’s Size (Simpatico Theatre). Florida State University, 2009 Bachelor’s in Humanities. Helen Hayes Nominee. 2015 F. Otto Haas Award for Emerging Philadelphia Theatre Artist. For Ash, Tay and Amias.
PTC: Debut. Regional: The Puppeteer With the Palsy… (Skerpro Productions); Ladysitting, Indecent, Clybourne Park (Arden Theatre Company); Twelfth Night (Lantern Theater Company); The Vinegar Tree, Moon Over Buffalo, Noises Off, Bach at Leipzig (People’s Light); Hope and Gravity (1812 Productions); The Brownings (FringeArts/Orbiter 3); Red Herring, The Tempest (Act II Playhouse); Cherokee (Wilma Theater). Training: M.F.A., Tisch School of the Arts, NYU. Affiliations: Company Member, People’s Light. Academia: Associate Professor of Theater, Temple University.
CREATIVE TEAM
PTC: Debut. Broadway: Performances include multiple productions and national tours. Regional: The Wilma Theater; Arden Theatre Company; Azuka Theatre; Theatre Horizon; Lantern Theater Company; Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival; IAMA Theatre Company (Los Angeles); Queens Theatre (New York). TV/Commercial: Multiple national commercials and television series. Awards: Two Barrymore Awards for Outstanding Direction of a Musical (The Color Purple, Once on This Island). Academia: Associate Professor of Acting and Musical Theater, Temple University. This production is dedicated to Robert Hedley. Thank you for your guidance and support! I love Bob!
Eboni Booth is a writer and actor from New York City. Her plays include Primary Trust (Roundabout Theatre, Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Outer Circle Critics Award) and Paris (Atlantic Theater, John Gassner Award). For television, she has written for Hulu’s We Were the Lucky Ones and HBO Max’s Julia. As an actor, Eboni has appeared in productions at Playwrights Horizons, LCT3, Manhattan Theatre Club, Ars Nova, WP Theater, Page 73, Soho Rep., Clubbed Thumb, and more. Eboni is currently the Judith Champion Playwriting Fellow at Manhattan Theatre Club and a resident playwright at New Dramatists. She is the recipient of a Dramatists Guild Horton Foote Award, a Steinberg Playwright Award, and a Helen Merrill Award for Playwriting. She is a graduate of Juilliard’s playwriting program and the University of Vermont.
PTC: Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike, The Outgoing Tide (Barrymore Award), Orson’s Shadow, Dinner With Friends, Gross Indecency. New York: Public Theater, TFANA, CSC, EST, Women’s Project, Pearl. Regional: Arden, Wilma, Walnut St., PLTC, Hartford Stage, Old Globe, Long Wharf, Williamstown, Goodspeed, Huntington, McCarter, Two River, Westport, Chicago Shakespeare, Kennedy Center. Opera: NYC Opera, L.A. Opera, Lincoln Center, Juilliard, Seattle Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Berkshire Opera, Nashville Opera, Sarasota Opera. Awards: Six Barrymore Awards, Elliot Norton Award, and CT Critics Circle, Carbonell and IRNE nominations. Academic: Chair, Dept. of Theater at Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University. More: www.davidpgordondesign.com
Regional: POTUS, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Arden Theatre Company); Good Person of Setzuan (Wilma Theater); Quixotic Professor Qiu, The Chinese Lady (InterAct Theatre Company); Noises Off (Delaware Theatre Company); The Fantasticks (Quintessence Theatre Group); Reverie (Azuka Theatre); Wolf Play, Extreme Home Makeover (Theatre Exile); The Weir (Hedgerow Theatre); King of the Yees (Princeton University); The Raven (Opera Philadelphia). Training: M.F.A., Costume Design; M.S., Communication Management, Temple University.
PTC: The Garbologists, Sweat, ALD & Lighting Supervisor 2011-2016. Regional: Walnut Street Theatre, Arden Theatre Company, Delaware Theatre Comapny, Westport Country Playhouse, Goodspeed Musicals, Virginia Stage Company, Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, New Light Theatre, 1812 Productions, Theatre Exile, Theatre Horizon, Hattiloo Theatre, Azuka Theatre, and more. Dance: BalletX, Koresh Dance Company, Brian Sanders’ JUNK, Kun-Yang/Dancers, and more.Two time Barrymore Award winner. Memberships: United Scenic Artists, Local USA 829, IATSE. Education: DeSales University.
PTC Debut. Regional: Guthrie Theater; Seattle Rep; Arden Theatre Company; Azuka Theatre; Lantern Theatre; Interact Theatre Company; The Wilma Theater; People’s Light; Theatre Horizon; Playmakers Rep; Denver Center; ACT Contemporary Theatre; Trinity Repertory Company; Steppenwolf Theatre Company; Camden Rep; Passage Theatre Company. Dance: Rennie Harris Puremovement (DJ); ELeon Dance; Danse 4 Nia; Duane Lee Holland Dance; Kaleah London Dance. Other: Imaging Director and Content Editor, Healthcare NOW Radio. Awards: Barrymore Award (4 nominations since 2018; 2023 Recipient (A Hit Dog Will Holler-Azuka). Memberships: USA Local 829; TSDCA; ASCAP. Social: @mrcisum (IG).
Regional: On My Deen (InterAct); Young Americans (Theatre Horizon); Siluetas (Power Street); Say it Ain’t So (Revolution Shakespeare); Plum Bun, Way of White Folks, Fool for Love (EgoPo); High Noon (Ninth Planet); Pass Over (Theatre Exile); Sunset Baby, Boycott Esther, Warplay (Azuka).
Honorary Producers
Gayle & David Smith
Cookie & Jerry Riesenbach
“Primary Trust” is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com