By Robert Israel

Playwright Eboni Booth won last year’s Pulitzer Prize for Drama for this script, and it is a heartwarming, well-constructed, one-act.

Primary Trust, a one-act play by Eboni Booth. Directed by Dawn M. Simmons. Presented by SpeakEasy Stage Co., Calderwood Pavilion, Boston Center for the Arts, 527 Tremont St., Boston, MA, through October 11.

From left: Janelle Grace and David J. Castillo in the SpeakEasy Stage production of Primary Trust. Photo: Benjamin Rose Photography

There is a boxed warning at the bottom of SpeakEasy’s playbill for this show that reads: “This production contains strong language and depictions of emotional trauma.” By now, we’ve become accustomed to seeing these admonitions: they appear in the upper left corners of our television screens before we watch a film, and they are posted in ratings for films as the credits unspool. So, why shouldn’t they be placed in a playbill for a live show? Well, because, like the pesky aural promptings within the play – a bell rings numerous times before transitions or moments of trauma – it’s overkill. We don’t need it. Playwright Eboni Booth, who won last year’s Pulitzer Prize for Drama for this script, has delivered a heartwarming, well-constructed, one-act. It’s a rewarding evening that stands on its own feet. No need for any warnings of “pathos ahead.” Director Dawn M. Simmons — who is also SpeakEasy’s new artistic director — has chosen wisely. She has ushered theatergoers into the troupe’s 35^th season with a strong production.

The play revolves around Kenneth (David J. Castillo), who is struggling to remain buoyant in the fictional town of Cranberry, N.Y. (it’s somewhere north, not far from Rochester). He’s an adult who has experienced (and grown into) an aforementioned emotional trauma brought on by a difficult childhood. (No further spoiler alerts or plot details about the specific nature of that setback will be supplied). In order to cope, he has developed an imaginary friend – Bert (Arthur Gomez) — who accompanies him everywhere. Think of Caliban, from Shakespeare’s The Tempest, who not only hears “a thousand twangling instruments” playing in the air when there are none but, also like Kenneth, creates imaginary friends. You get the picture: life works better when you’re in the company of pals. The cast is rounded out by two additional, competent players — Janelle Grace and Luis Negron — who each take on three personas.

Kenneth also serves as narrator. He puts his lanky arm around us and draws us close, inviting us to share his intimacies. We accompany him to his job in a bookstore in the town. We hop on down to his favorite watering hole after work and join him for its Happy Hour (it’s a tiki bar called Wally’s, a place that serves mai tais, those overly sweet alcoholic concoctions that pack a punch). Bert’s there, too. It’s all very cozy. Playwright Booth uses this setup to weave her tale, to introduce conflicts, and to show us that the world is not such a bad place after all. Yes, that same world comes with conflicts. One-two punches to our solar plexus are often delivered. We may struggle to regain our bearings after these setbacks and assaults. But it’s also a place that can provide us with solace, a place where we discover connection, where we can find acceptance and kindness. Indeed, there should be a boxed warning that appears in the playbill that reads: “This Play Practices Acts of Random Kindness.”

Janelle Grace in the SpeakEasy Stage production of Primary Trust. Photo: Benjamin Rose Photography

Those acts of kindness include the welcoming gestures of a bank manager, the run-on sentences of a spirited mai tai bartender, the aforementioned imaginary friend, and a bookstore manager. Our protagonist, the beneficiary of all these acts of kindness, comes through it all with psyche intact. The message: it takes a village to raise and nurture human beings.

That village is created believably onstage thanks to an open set by scenic designer Shelley Barish that enables the players to move about freely. There are numerous transitions in the play, so a fluid space is essential to make those changes click into place efficiently. The set is further enhanced by lighting designer Karen Perlow who provides a rich palette of colors.

But, back to that pesky bell clanging throughout the show. I kept thinking of Pavlov’s dog, which, for the sake of scientific progress, was forced to listen to the sound of a bell and  triggered to respond. One of the greatest thrills of attending live shows is being invited to engage one’s imagination without prompts. (Or to appreciate a playwright’s adroit use of subtler cues.) We can do the theatrical/psychological work. I could easily picture this production succeeding without them (or succeeding better by cutting back on the number of times we are forced to hear them).

But that is a minor complaint. Primary Trust is worth seeking out because it tells us a lot about change, the only constant in our lives we can count on, even when we don’t know what it might bring. Kenneth goes through a lot of changes and that is to be expected — it is his rite of passage. Booth asks us to tag along, and it’s worth the ride.

Robert Israel, an Arts Fuse contributor since 2013, can be reached at risrael_97@yahoo.com.