Actor Andrew Broderick forges connections in Pulitzer Prize-winning Primary Trust
In the Arts Club production, his recently laid-off and all-too-relatable character Kenneth learns to face a world he’s long avoided
Andrew Broderick.
The Arts Club Theatre Company presents Primary Trust to March 2 at the Granville Island Stage
TORONTO-BASED ACTOR Andrew Broderick has performed at the Stratford Festival and the Shaw Festival; he has appeared in Choir Boy (in last year’s Arts Club Theatre Company production), The Color Purple, Jersey Boys, Hadestown, Hairspray, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, and The Wizard of Oz: The Toto-ly Awesome Family Musical, among other productions.
His latest role is a coup. He plays the lead in Eboni Booth’s Primary Trust, which won the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The Arts Club will be the eighth company in the world and the first in Canada to produce the critically acclaimed work.
In the show directed by Ashlie Corcoran, Broderick plays Kenneth, a 38-year-old bookstore worker who spends his evenings sipping mai tais at the local tiki bar with his best buddy, Bert. When he’s suddenly laid off, Kenneth finally begins to face a world he’s long avoided, to transformative effect. Loneliness, new beginnings, friendship, and the power of small acts of kindness are all themes that pulse through the play.
“He’s kind of lived an isolated life,” Broderick says of his character in a phone interview with Stir. “He has his routine down and then there’s a shift in that routine and it forces him to go out of his comfort zone and find community. He begins to see some of the basic human needs that he didn’t know he needed and we see how he integrates himself.
“It’s about connection,” Broderick adds. “It’s a story of love and balance and time.”
Broderick himself found community in the acting world when he was 16 and began doing musical theatre. It was a high-school guidance counsellor who nudged him into it.
“I was such a shy kid; I was super, super, super shy,” Broderick says. “I remember a guidance counsellor telling me to try out a vocal class. She filmed my exam and shared it with the music department. She nudged me a bit more, and I gained some confidence. It’s nice to have an artistic community to lift you up and to have teachers recognize something you may not see yourself.”
Broderick was in the top 16 on Canadian Idol’s second season and went on to study at Sheridan College. He says he enjoys the storytelling aspect of his career.
“I really love the journey with the audience,” Broderick says. “I love transforming into different characters. There’s something universal about most plays and musicals that tugs at some heartstrings along the way. I love honest portrayals as humans; we’re such interesting creatures and I love being able to show variety of ideas and perspectives that can differ from my own.”
What he also loves about his character in Primary Trust is that Kenneth is relatable.
“I think we can all relate to the character post-pandemic,” Broderick says. “The play takes place pre-smartphone so it’s really about the human connection we would crave and have. Now we have that with our phones; we’re constantly in touch with our friends and liking posts in the online community. This is about the person-to-person connection and going from isolation into the community, and I think we all experienced that leaving lockdown and going back into the world.
“It is a marathon for me in that I do not leave the stage, or I maybe leave for 15 seconds then I’m back,” he adds. “The full 80 minutes is just Kenneth’s journey, and everything else revolves around that. Other characters really see how they influence him. It takes endurance. It’s a challenge in that I have to sustain this character for the entire time.”
Broderick adds that he’s working with a wonderful cast, which includes Celia Aloma, Anton Lipovetsky, Broadus Mattison, and Andrew Wheeler.
“The community within the cast really reflects what I hope people take away from the show,” Broderick says. “We really do support one another and show up for each other. We really place importance in telling this story with each other; we’re not just stepping in to do another show. It’s an important show that demands us to open our hearts. It’s an extraordinary show told by ordinary people.” 
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