Play Review: Primary Trust at Cleveland Play House’s Outcalt Theatre

By Attiyya Atkins

CLEVELAND — At the intimate Outcalt Theatre, inside the Cleveland Play House, Primary Trust proves why it earned the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Written by playwright Eboni Booth, the play is deceptively simple. A man loses his job. He finds a new one. He makes a friend. But beneath that quiet arc is something deeper: the rebuilding of “primary trust” — the foundational emotional safety formed, or fractured, in childhood.

The title works on two levels. Kenneth, 38, begins working at a bank called Primary Trust. But psychologically, he is also grappling with the loss of his own primary trust unit — the early emotional security disrupted by childhood trauma and the loss of his mother. That fracture follows him into adulthood, shaping how he connects, avoids, copes and survives.

The lead performance is riveting. The actor portraying Kenneth, Debo Balogun, known to many audiences from 50 Cent’s Power universe — brings layered vulnerability to the role. Television audiences may recognize his intensity, but on stage, he reveals restraint. His Kenneth is awkward, tender, funny and quietly unraveling all at once.

The acting across the ensemble is dynamic yet controlled. Moments that could tip into melodrama instead land with precision. The audience responded in waves — soft laughter, deep silence, and more than a few tear-jerking pauses followed by the whispered recognition of “that’s sad.”

The set design at the Outcalt’s 360-style configuration enhances the storytelling. Minimal and fluid, it mirrors Kenneth’s inner world: sparse, contained, but fragile. The staging allows the actors’ emotional shifts to carry the weight rather than spectacle.

At its core, Primary Trust is about mental health and the slow courage of change. Kenneth copes in unhealthy ways, clinging to imagined stability after losing his long-time bookstore job. He declares at one point that he does not believe in God, heaven or hell — but he believes in friends. For some, that line lands as humanist faith. For others, it underscores the spiritual void that trauma can create. The play does not argue theology; it examines loneliness.

And that’s what makes it powerful.

This is not a flashy story. It is happening every day — grown adults walking around with unhealed childhood wounds, masking pain with routine, isolation or denial. Booth’s writing honors that reality without judgment.

The ending is hopeful, not because everything is magically resolved, but because Kenneth chooses connection. He shows up. He risks friendship. He steps into the unknown.

In a theater city often described as second only to Broadway, this production reminds audiences why Cleveland’s stage scene remains vital: elemental storytelling, strong performances and stories that reflect the quiet battles people fight every day.

Primary Trust restores something simple yet essential — the belief that change is possible, and that friendship can be the first step toward healing. The final day at the Outcalt Theater is March 2, 2026.