Now playing at New Brunswick’s George Street Playhouse is the drama Too Heavy for Your Pocket. The play by Jiréh Breon Holder runs though May 19 and also marks the final show at the interim location at Rutgers’ Cook Campus.
Under the direction of LA Williams, Too Heavy for Your Pocket follows two couples who live in Nashville, Tennessee in the Summer of 1961. Both couples are hard working and striving to improve their lives. The play opens as Sally-Mae Carter, played by Joniece Abbott-Pratt, is graduating from a beauty school. Landon G. Woodson plays her husband, Tony Carter. He is very proud of his wife’s accomplishment and makes sure to let her know this.
Also coming to the graduation are the Carter’s friends Bowzie and Evelyn Brandon. As Donnell E. Smith plays Bowzie, the first signs of his discontent become apparent as the play has several solo scenes where he is outside thinking and then showing strong reaction. This discontent is an important feature of the first act because it leads to his leaving a promising college career with scholarships funding his way. Felicia Boswell plays Evelyn Brandon, who works as a singer. She is proud of all the accomplishments around around her but still looks for her place in life.
The first part of the play is light-hearted and fun to watch as the two couples interact and prepare to go to Sally-Mae’s graduation. Little secrets begin to reveal as Tony brings out a box from under the refrigerator and gives Bowzie some money and Bowzie’s outdoor thinking scenes. So between these pieces, the scene is set for the major concentration of the action.
As the play progresses, more comes out about each person and each couple. The Carters have gone through marital infidelity from Tony and Sally-Mae is reluctant to trust him. Evelyn wants to believe in Bowzie but when she becomes pregnant, she doesn’t tell him widening the gap between the two.
The Underlying Issue
The play is a commentary on how the Civil Rights issues of the day were affecting people of color at that time. The chance for Bowzie to go to college tuition free is celebrated. However, one stumbling block comes in immediately: he must pay for a remedial summer course he must take in the summer before he enters the school. Money is tight and that point is not given much emphasis. But, he appears make it into school and then decides to leave it all and join The Freedom Riders.
Bowzie joins them and is arrested and put in jail. In the second act, the focus comes to rest on his letters that he reads aloud as they are sent to Sally-Mae. The letters are rough to hear as the conditions the arrested are living under are terrible. It is through those letters that the audience learns more about that time period, so critical in the history of Civil Rights.
Eventually, Bowzie learns that Evelyn is expecting a child and he makes a decision that might surprise some. That decision shows a very humanistic side that people who were involved with the movement faced. Decisions about how to live one’s life while fighting for the causes of freedom underlies all the action of the play. The Freedom Ride movement affects all of the characters of the story and this is well played out in the second act.
Strengths of the Play
Too Heavy for Your Pocket is well staged with a strong cast. The acting of the four characters is powerful including many times that is heartbreaking. The references to the needs of the couples and the effects of the bigotry of the day on them is crucial to all of their lives. This comes through very well. Lighting is well used to allow movement between scenes to happen very easily. The play has all the important ingredients needed for a moving drama. The only criticism might be that the first act gets a little slow in the middle. But then, as Bowzie makes his decision to go out with the Freedom Riders, the pace picks up. However, that might be viewed as how life really does move along.
Historic Views of The Freedom Riders
The Freedom Riders were Civil Rights activists who rode interstate buses into segregated states in the south beginning in 1961. Their goal was to challenge the non-enforcement of the Supreme Court decisions about busing. George Street Playhouse does an outstanding job of providing the audience with materials to read about the Freedom Ride Movement. I highly encourage anyone going to see this show to go to the cafe area and see the display created for this show. Seeing this first helps give a better understanding of the underlying issue upon which this play is based.
Additional Information
Too Heavy for Your Pocket runs now though May 19, 2019 at George Street Playhouse. The location is on Rutgers’ Cook Campus, 103 College Farm Road, New Brunswick, NJ.
The running time for the show is about 2 hours with one 15 minute intermission.
The show is especially recommended for those who like plays with historic basis and dramas.
For tickets, call 732-246-7717 or visit georgestreetplayhouse.org.