Too Heavy for Your Pocket NYC Reviews and Tickets
Member Reviews (69)
See it if Great significant story and storytelling. Touching and poignant. Great acting and beautiful set. Important.
Don't see it if you don't care about issues of race and class struggle.
See it if You want to see great performances in an intimate space. Characters are well written & easily draw you into this moving story.
Don't see it if You are looking to see something that is light and fluffy.
See it if While one man risks his life to join the Freedom Riders, his wife and best friends struggle with their relationships. Well acted.
Don't see it if You don't want to see people trying to cope with differences in their values. Intentionally "too heavy"? Read more
See it if you like new plays, interested in African-American playwrights, appreciate well-directed, well-acted productions with integrity
Don't see it if You're not interested in African-American plays, have issues dealing with the freedom riders and civil rights movement, prefer the classics
See it if Interesting & uncharted look a civil rights movement via 'common folks' viewpoint Well acted & crafted (on downhome set) w/great soundscape
Don't see it if Despite the class issues influencing the characters, author Holder allows the plot to slide into soap opera Still compelling but unsatifying
See it if does a fabulous job of getting atmospherics behind 1961 black middle class life/strong women, weak men; gospel singing animates; strong cast
Don't see it if plot predictable; playwright can't figure out where to take the story in 2nd act; motivation 4 freedom fighting expressed in hackneyed terms
See it if you're looking for a drama about people's relationships set against the backdrop of the Civil Rights movement and the Freedom riders.
Don't see it if you're expecting more of a historical play. This is more of a human play that is set amidst history.
See it if you want to experience the work of a new writer, Jiréh Breon Holder. Also, Margot Bordelon's direction makes great use of the space.
Don't see it if you are not interested in plays with political/historical themes.
Critic Reviews (11)
"Stylistically old-fashioned, it feels as familiar and earnest as a pew. And yet its formal conservatism almost seems daring when paired with content that many may find, as I did, illuminating and moving...'Too Heavy' dramatizes questions of class difference within the black community that rarely get broached onstage...When Mr. Holder gets too earnest about it, the play bogs down...Intermittently, a fine production, directed with verve by Margot Bordelon and handsomely designed."
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"Even in the stronger second section of the play, Holder can over-sugar his characters—the domestic quarrels approach soapiness—and Bordelon has the actors perform broadly, which can be startling in a space as small as the Roundabout Underground. But Okafor has a beautiful quality of stern patience, which carries us through the more sentimental sequences. She seems to age before our eyes, her happiness turning into a deep, steady disappointment."
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"Holder is putting his finger on something powerful, something that Fight for Freedom narratives don’t necessarily get at: Protesting is a privilege...Holder’s prose does occasionally tip toward heavy-handedness. But it’s a credit to Bordelon’s deft touch and to Okafor’s raw power that here the notes ring true...As the characters struggle for air, so do we. Inhaling and exhaling in a room together: It’s the simplest reality of theater and sometimes the most important."
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"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."
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"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...We grow to love the four characters, which keeps us invested in a play that occasionally meanders to the point of dullness."
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“Holder artfully entangles the four characters in a web of secrets and resentments...At the same time, ‘Too Heavy for Your Pocket’ is an acute picture of lives transformed by larger social forces...The process by which the characters fight their way toward some kind of solid ground is illuminated by Bordelon's observant direction and four first-rate performances...A lively, powerful piece of writing supported by a band of interesting new talents.”
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"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."
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"A terrific cast of four, under the sterling direction of Bordelson, 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."
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