Too Heavy For Your Pocket by Mansa Ra

Starring Eboni Flowers, Hampton Fluker, Brandon Gill, Nneka Okafor

Scenic Design by Reid Thompson

Costume Design by Valérie Thérèse Bart

Lighting Design by Jiyoun Chang

Sound Design and Composition by Ian Scot

Hair and Wig Design by Dave Bova & J. Jared Janas

Production Stage Manager: Katherine Wallace

All photos taken by Polk & Co. for the Roundabout Underground 2017 production.

P R E S S:

"Jiréh Breon Holder’s Too Heavy for Your Pocket — now under the brisk, elegant direction of Margot Bordelon at the Roundabout’s Black Box Theatre — takes place during the summer of 1961 in Nashville, Tennessee… Holder is putting his finger on something powerful, something that Fight for Freedom narratives — even exquisite ones like Ava DuVernay’s film Selma — don’t necessarily get at: Protesting is a privilege. The option to “join the movement” only exists in a serious way for those with money and education… Too Heavy for Your Pocket has a cleverly limited geography, emphasized by Bordelon’s staging and by Reid Thompson’s beautiful scenic design, which wraps all around us and even underneath us in Roundabout’s low-ceilinged Black Box Theatre."

            - Sara Holdren, New York Magazine / Vulture

“This is an exceptional work, one that will dive-bomb into your head and your heart...Directed with fierce intensity by Margot Bordelon and featuring a stellar cast...'Too Heavy For Your Pocket' is remarkable for the depth of its exploration of a tumultuous time in our history. Playwright Jiréh Breon Holder has managed to captivate the audience by examining issues of race, gender, power, faith, and politics without ever losing sight of his characters.”

           - Howard Miller, Talkin' Broadway

“The play and this production bristle with ideas that bring fresh news to a familiar tale...Director Margot Bordelon’s sensitive staging honors that intimacy in its no-nonsense, fuss-free simplicity and elegance. Most important is the astonishing caliber of the four actors in these roles, each drawn as if by a laser printer, with no small amount of help from a gifted writer who will be amazing to watch as his work grows.” 

            - Jeremy Gerard, Deadline

“A terrific cast of four, under the sterling direction of Bordelon, must be credited for making this play a thoroughly worthwhile and memorable experience...A compelling narrative that is mainly revealed through a young man with a mission...The action is cleverly staged in and around the kitchen setting that allows for other locations. It is the feeling of home and kinship that pervades even as we see how impulsive decisions, no matter how righteous and well-meaning, alter perspectives.” 

            - Simon Saltzman, CurtainUp

“Jiréh Breon Holder's Too Heavy for Your Pocket begins and ends with breath. The performers audibly exhale in unison, punctuating the play's two acts, reminding us of Eric Garner and all of the people for whom civil rights is not merely a philosophical discussion exiting in a vacuum, but a matter of life or death — breath or no breath. It's a heavy topic that Holder presents with gentle sympathy in this New York premiere at Roundabout Underground… Better than any play I've seen on the subject, 'Too Heavy for Your Pocket' examines the role of class in our nation's civil rights struggle...All four actors deliver excellent performances...Director Margot Bordelon balances the conflicting tones of the play through an even-keeled production.

            - Zachary Stewart, Theatermania

“An engrossing new drama…Playwright Holder has created intricate, recognizable characters and dialogue that bristles with verisimilitude. Under Margot Bordelon’s direction, the four fine actors form a beautifully balanced ensemble…A top-notch production…The artistic intelligence, psychological insight, and native talent on view in 'Too Heavy for Your Pocket' would have demanded expression regardless of the playwright’s advantages and good fortune.”

            - Charles Wright, Off Off Online

“The process by which the characters fight their way toward some kind of solid ground is illuminated by Margot Bordelon’s observant direction and four first-rate performances.”

            - David Barbour, Lighting & Sound America

“Too Heavy for Your Pocket displays the cost of activism in extreme close-up.  There is no hiding in a black box theatre, and each member of this remarkable cast gives raw, rich, and natural performances under the smart direction of Margot Bordelon.”

            - Robert Russo, Stage Left