Eboni Booth’s acclaimed off-Broadway hit arrives in Sarasota January 2026
SARASOTA, FL — Asolo Repertory Theatre, Florida’s premier professional theatre, announces the cast and creative team for PRIMARY TRUST, with performances January 7–February 11, 2026 (previews Jan. 7–8; opening night Jan. 9).
Winner of the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Eboni Booth’s absorbing, funny, and ultimately profound play centers on Kenneth, a middle-aged man living a carefully ordered life in small-town America. He spends his days working at a quiet bookstore and his evenings sipping mai tais at the local tiki bar with his closest companion. But when Kenneth suddenly loses his job, he is forced to confront a world—and the possibility of human connection—he’s long avoided. A deceptively ordinary story about the extraordinary courage it takes to open oneself to friendship, change, and hope.
“I have great admiration for Eboni Booth’s quiet play that resounds with insight and hope,” says Producing Artistic Director Peter Rothstein. “It is a deceptively simple play about the complexity of human relationships and the resilience of the human spirit.”
Performance Dates
January 9 – February 11, 2026
Previews: January 7 – 8
Cast
The principal cast features Kamal Bolden (Bert; The Apollo/The Flea: Hang Time; Billie Holiday Theatre: Reparations; National Black Theatre: Hands Up); Anthony Cason (Kenneth; Broadway: Oklahoma!; Soho Rep: Is God Is); Luke Choi (Waiter, Bank Customer, Townsperson; FSU/Asolo Conservatory); Matt Decaro (Sam, Clay, Le Pousselet Bartender; Asolo Rep: The Great Society, The Little Foxes, The Crucible, Sweat, Rhinoceros); Kayland Jordan (Corinna, Waiter, Bank Customer; Utah Shakespeare Festival: A Raisin in the Sun, As You Like It, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Macbeth, Antony & Cleopatra); Angelle Mishon (Waiter, Bank Customer, Townsperson; FSU/Asolo Conservatory); Peter Vitale (Composer/Musician; Playmakers Rep: Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing); Will Westray (Waiter, Bank Customer, Townsperson; FSU/Asolo Conservatory).
Understudies include Angelle Mishon (Corinna); Bernell J. Lassai III (Bert); Frank Oden (Clay and Sam); Will Westray (Kenneth). For Waiters, Bank Customers, and Townspeople: Mya Barber, D’zyre Jones, Charlie Lavaroni, Armando González, Lia Rodriguez
Creative Team
Directed by Chari Arespacochaga (Roundabout Theatre Company’s Directors Group: Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812, Kinky Boots, Rent, In the Heights, The Motherf**ker With the Hat, and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee); Original Music by Peter Vitale (Playmakers Rep: Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing); Scenic Design by Joey Mendoza (Recent work: Jane Anger (with Michael Urie), Export Quality, Constellations, Kisapmata, and We Aren’t Kids Anymore); Costume Design by Jen Gillette (Notable productions include: Bud, Not Buddy(Kennedy Center), Cunning Little Vixen (Manhattan School of Music), Porgy and Bess (Hattiloo Theatre)); Lighting Design by Alan C. Edwards (Asolo Rep: Beautiful, Intimate Apparel, Chad Deity. Broadway: Associate to Jennifer Tipton on The Testament of Mary); Sound Design by Matthew Parker (sound and special effects at The Flat Rock Theatre in North Carolina on shows including: I Hate Hamlet, the world premiere of Gilligan’s Island: The Musical and others in the 1992 season); Hair, Wig & Makeup Design by Michelle Hart (Asolo Rep: Come from Away, All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914); Stage Management by Sam Allen (Off-Broadway: The Brothers Size (The Shed)); Assistant Stage Management by Matthew Rohan (Asolo Rep: Jesus Christ Superstar, Ken Ludwig’s The Three Musketeers, Chicken & Biscuits, Looking for Ithaca: An Odyssey (TYA Tour)).
Tickets
Subscriptions and single tickets for Asolo Rep’s 2025–26 season are on sale now. Show times: Tuesday–Saturday at 7:30 p.m.; Matinees: 1:30 p.m. on Wednesdays, Saturdays, Sundays, and select Thursdays. For tickets and information, visit AsoloRep.org or call 941.351.8000 or 800.361.8388.
About Asolo Rep
Since 1958, Asolo Repertory Theatre has been recognized as one of the premier professional theatres in America and one of the largest in the Southeastern United States. Asolo Rep presents up to eight productions each season, including classics, contemporary drama, musicals, and world premieres. A theatre district in and of itself, Asolo Rep is committed to expanding its reach into the community, furthering its collaboration with leading theatre-makers, and cultivating the next generation of artists through its affiliation with the FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training. Under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Peter Rothstein and Managing Director Ross Egan, Asolo Rep’s ambitious theatrical offerings, commitment to new work, and groundbreaking education and engagement programs ensure the company’s lasting legacy for future generations. Learn more at AsoloRep.org.