Brandon Gill to Star in TOO HEAVY FOR YOUR POCKET This Fall at Roundabout

Roundabout Theatre Company presents the first new play of Roundabout Underground's expanded 2017-2018 season, the world-premiere production of Too Heavy For Your Pocket by Jiréh Breon Holder, directed by Margot Bordelon, and featuring Eboni Flowers (Evelyn Brandon), Hampton Fluker (Tony Carter), Brandon Gill (Bowzie Brandon) and Nneka Okafor (Sally-Mae Carter).

Too Heavy for Your Pocket will begin preview performances Off-Broadway on Friday, September 15, 2017 and opens officially on Thursday, October 5, 2017 at the Black Box Theatre in the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre (111 West 46th Street). This is a limited engagement through Sunday, November 19, 2017. All tickets for Roundabout Underground productions are $25.

In Too Heavy For Your Pocket, Tennessee-born Holder takes us back to Nashville in the summer of 1961. The Freedom Riders are embarking on a courageous journey into the Deep South. When 20-year-old Bowzie Brandon gives up a life-changing college scholarship to join the movement, he'll have to convince his loved ones-and himself-that shaping his country's future might be worth jeopardizing his own.

Now in its 11th season, Roundabout Underground has proven an enormous success since the program debuted in 2007 with Stephen Karam's hit comedy Speech and Debate. Karam's first play commissioned by Roundabout-Sons of the Prophet-was a Pulitzer Prize finalist and his second commission, The Humans, won the Tony Award for Best Play after transferring from the Laura Pels Theatre to Broadway. Joshua Harmon also made his professional debut with Roundabout Underground with the hit Bad Jews. His play, Significant Other, premiered Off-Broadway at Roundabout and transferred to Broadway last season; his new play, Skintight, will premiere at the Laura Pels Theatre in Spring 2018 starring Idina Menzel. Fellow Underground alumnus Steven Levenson (The Language of Trees) won the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical for his Broadway debut with Dear Evan Hansen, while simultaneously debuting his new play, If I Forget, Off-Broadway at Roundabout. After the success of Too Much, Too Much, Too Many in 2013, Roundabout commissioned playwright Meghan Kennedy to write Napoli, Brooklyn, which is currently playing at the Laura Pels Theatre. Lindsey Ferrentino, who made her Roundabout debut with Ugly Lies the Bone, will return with Amy and the Orphans at the Laura Pels Theatre in the spring.

Too Heavy for Your Pocket launches the 11th season of Roundabout Underground, with the goal of introducing and cultivating young artists in Roundabout's 62-seat Black Box Theatre at the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre. Bobbie Clearly was presented as part of last year's Underground Reading Series at Roundabout, and is the second production in the Roundabout Underground's expanded two-play 2017-2018 season. Prior productions include the acclaimed world premieres of Stephen Karam's Speech & Debate (2007), Steven Levenson's The Language of Trees (2008), Adam Gwon's Ordinary Days (2009), Kim Rosenstock's Tigers Be Still (2010), David West Read's The Dream of the Burning Boy (2011), Andrew Hinderaker's Suicide, Incorporated (2011), Joshua Harmon's Bad Jews (2012), Meghan Kennedy's Too Much, Too Much, Too Many (2013), Jeff Augustin's Little Children Dream of God (2015), Lindsey Ferrentino's Ugly Lies the Bone (2015), Jenny Rachel Weiner's Kingdom Come (2016), and Marti?n Zimmerman's On the Exhale (2017).

Roundabout Underground showcases new plays that will either give a debut production to an emerging writer or director, or allow an experienced director to go back to his/her creative roots. Robyn Goodman (Artistic Consultant to the Roundabout) and Jill Rafson serve as Artistic Producers, with Associate Producer Josh Fiedler, for this initiative that continues to be a creative breeding ground for nurturing new talent.

The 62-seat Black Box Theatre, below the Laura Pels Theatre in the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre, allows Roundabout to take artistic risks that are better suited for a more intimate space.

The creative team for Too Heavy For Your Pocket includes: Reid Thompson (Sets), Valérie Thérèse Bart (Costumes), Jiyoun Chang (Lighting) and Ian Scot (Sound).

Major support for Too Heavy For Your Pocket is provided by Jodi Glucksman.
Roundabout's work with new and emerging playwrights and directors, as well as development of new work, is made possible by Katheryn Patterson and Tom Kempner.

Too Heavy for Your Pocket was also produced at the ALLIANCE THEATRE, Atlanta, GA (Susan V. Booth, Jennings Hertz Artistic Director / Mike Schleifer, Managing Director) in mutual arrangement with Roundabout Theatre Company.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

Eboni Flowers (Evelyn Brandon) is humbled and honored to be a part of this beautiful production again, after playing Evelyn at Atlanta's ALLIANCE THEATRE. Recent credits include New York: Dead Dog Park (Bedlam), Paradox of the Urban Cliche' (Wild Project), Miss Julie (August Strindberg Rep), Court Martial at Fort Devens (New Federal/Castillo Theater), The Right Reverend Dupree in Exile (Billie Holiday Theater). Regional: Too Heavy For Your Pocket (ALLIANCE THEATRE), Three Sisters, Trojan Women, A Winters Tale, Coriolanus, As You Like It and Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse (Alabama Shakespeare Festival), Sex Acts (Push-Push Theater), Freddie Hendricks' YEA (7Stages Theater). Television: "Blue Bloods," "Show me a Hero" and "Friends of the People." Clark Atlanta University (B.A), Alabama Shakespeare Festival/ Univ. of Alabama (M.F.A). Dedicated to the love, the friends, and the songs that get us through. www.ihearteboni.com

HAMPTON FLUKER (Tony Carter) stars as Marcus Tufo on the NBC Series "Shades of Blue." Television credits include arcs on "The Good Wife" and "Major Crimes" along with roles on "Blue Bloods," "Aquarius" and "Whitney" directed by Angela Bassett. His film credits include Patriots Day starring Mark Wahlberg, The Blind Side starring Sandra Bullock and the independent features No One Asked Me and The Depths. On stage, Hampton starred in Esai's Table at The Cherry Lane Theatre. Fluker was raised in Atlanta, Georgia and resides in Brooklyn. He is a graduate of Boston University.

Brandon Gill (Bowzie Brandon), a native New Yorker, is a graduate of The Juilliard School and LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts. Brandon was most recently seen in Bella at Playwrights Horizons. He made his Broadway debut in Holler If Ya Hear Me, directed by Kenny Leon, and has also appeared in The Last Goodbye (The Old Globe, directed by Alex Timbers), the World Premieres of Neighbors (The Public Theater) and Stagger Lee (Dallas Theater Center), and recently workshopped the new British Invasion musical with Jerry Mitchell and Rick Elice. Brandon stars in the upcoming film Tower of Silence; other films include Big Mommas: Like Father Like Son, Fourth Man Out, Foreclosure, and Sorcerer's Apprentice. On television, Brandon has made guest appearances in "Blue Bloods," "Beauty and the Beast," "House of Cards," "Do No Harm," "Detroit 187," "Law & Order: SVU" and recurred on "Golden Boy."

Nneka Okafor (Sally-Mae Carter) Roundabout debut. Off-Broadway: Troilus and Cressida (The Public), Our Lady of Kibeho (Signature Theatre). Television: "Elementary," "Nightcap," "Benders," "Black Box," "Unforgettable," "666 Park." Graduate of UCLA's School of Theatre, Film and Television. So much love and gratitude to my dear family and friends.

JIRÉH BREON HOLDER (Playwright) is the Playwriting Fellow of the Department of Theater and Creative Writing at Emory University. He is an Atlanta area playwright whose sharp and political plays frequently address the magic of everyday life in the South. In 2016, he received his MFA in Playwriting from the Yale School of Drama and co-founded Pyramid Theatre Company in Des Moines, Iowa. From 2012-13, he served as the Kenny Leon Fellow at the Tony Award-winning ALLIANCE THEATRE. He graduated from Morehouse College where he served as the artistic director of Spelman College Playwrights' Workshop. His plays have received productions at the ALLIANCE THEATRE, Yale School of Drama and Yale Cabaret. He has received readings at Manhattan Theatre Club, the Kennedy Center, and the Old Globe Theatre. He is currently under commission with Roundabout Theatre Company, Manhattan Theatre Club, and Out of Hand Theater.

Margot Bordelon (Director) is a Brooklyn based director who specializes in new work. Recent projects include T. by Dan Aibel at American Theater Company, Too Heavy For Your Pocket by Jire?h Breon Holder at the Alliance, The Pen by Julianne Wick Davis and Dan Collins for Premieres NYC (NYT's Critic's pick), peerless by Jiehae Park at Marin Theatre Company and Yale Rep, The Last Class: A Jazzercize Play by Megan Hill for Dodo, A Delicate Ship by Anna Ziegler for The Playwrights Realm (NYT's Critic's pick), and Okay, Bye by Joshua Conkel at Steppenwolf Theater. In New York, she's developed new plays with Ars Nova, Atlantic Theatre, The Bushwick Starr, Cherry Lane, Clubbed Thumb, Juilliard, The Lark, Ma-Yi, NYTW, P73, Primary Stages, The Public, Rattlestick, SPACE at Ryder Farm, Target Margin, and Theater Masters, among others. Regionally, she's developed work with Berkeley Rep, Ojai Playwrights Conference, Perry Mansfield, Play Penn, PWC, Portland Center Stage, The Wilma, and Woolly Mammoth. Margot moved east after spending six years in Chicago working as a director, writer and performer. She is a founding member of Theatre Seven of Chicago, and spent four seasons on the artistic staff at Lookingglass Theatre. MFA: Yale School of Drama, BFA: Cornish College of the Arts. www.margotbordelon.com

The Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre opened in March 2004 with an acclaimed premiere of Lynn Nottage's Intimate Apparel starring Viola Davis, directed by Dan Sullivan. In the ten years since that landmark production, the center has expanded beyond the Laura Pels Theatre to include the Black Box Theatre and now a new education center. The Steinberg Center continues to reflect Roundabout's commitment to produce new works by established and emerging writers as well as revivals of classic plays. This state-of-the-art off-Broadway theatre and education complex is made possible by a major gift from The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust. The Trust was created in 1986 by Harold Steinberg to promote and advance American Theatre as a vital part of our culture by supporting playwrights, encouraging the development and production of new work, and providing financial assistance to not-for-profit theatre companies across the country. Since its inception, the Trust has awarded over $70 million to more than 125 theatre organizations.

Roundabout Underground's home is a 62-seat Black Box Theatre, which is also used year-round by Roundabout's education department for its activities including studeNT Productions and professional development workshops.

Jiréh Breon Holder's Too Heavy For Your Pocket and Roundabout Theatre Company are recipients of the 2017 Laurents Hatcher Award.

Roundabout Theatre Company is committed to producing the highest quality theatre with the finest artists, sharing stories that endure, and providing accessibility to all audiences. A not-for-profit company, Roundabout fulfills its mission each season through the production of classic plays and musicals; development and production of new works by established and emerging writers; educational initiatives that enrich the lives of children and adults; and a subscription model and audience outreach programs that cultivate and engage all audiences.

Roundabout Theatre Company presents a variety of plays, musicals, and new works on its five stages, each of which is specifically designed to enhance the needs of Roundabout's mission. Off-Broadway, the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre, which houses the Laura Pels Theatre and Black Box Theatre, with its simple sophisticated design, is perfectly suited to showcasing new plays. The grandeur of its Broadway home on 42nd Street, American Airlines Theatre, sets the ideal stage for the classics. Roundabout's Studio 54 provides an exciting and intimate Broadway venue for its musical and special eveNT Productions. The Stephen Sondheim Theatre offers a state of the art LEED certified Broadway theatre in which to stage major large-scale musical revivals. Together these distinctive homes serve to enhance Roundabout's work on each of its stages.

Roundabout's season in 2017 includes Marvin's Room by Scott McPherson, directed by Anne Kauffman; Napoli, Brooklyn by Meghan Kennedy, directed by Gordon Edelstein; Time and the Conways by J. B. Priestley, directed by Rebecca Taichman; and the national tour of Sam Mendes & Rob Marshall's Tony Award-winning production of Cabaret.

Roundabout's new off-Broadway season dedicated to new work at the Harold & Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre in 2017-2018 will include The Last Match, by Anna Ziegler, directed by Gaye Taylor Upchurch; Amy and the Orphans, by Lindsey Ferrentino, directed by Scott Ellis; Skintight, by Joshua Harmon, directed by Daniel Aukin.

Roundabout Underground's 2017-2018 season will include Too Heavy For Your Pocket by Jiréh Breon Holder, and Bobbie Clearly by Alex Lubischer.