Review: HEAVY at Greenfinch Theater And Dive Bar is a Weighty Look at Obesity

According to a 2024 press release by the Centers for Disease “population data shows that in 23 states more than one in three adults has obesity.” Eric Satterfield’s new play HEAVY, written with Hazel McIntire, is a raw and unfiltered look at adults living with obesity. Heavy, presented by A Chorus of Fools, is currently playing at Greenfinch Theater and Dive Bar in its world premiere production.  

Heavy tells of a melancholic romance between two overweight adults. The story unapologetically explores what living with obesity is like. Satterfield and McIntire’s narrative considers many of the comorbidities that come with excessive weight including heart disease, depression, self-esteem, body image, and erectile dysfunction. The story tackles the painful topics of cruel verbal abuse, and the negative stereotypes heaped upon overweight people. 

Heavy opens at support meeting for binge eaters where Leo (Eric Satterfield) and Gabby (LaWanda Jackson) meet. Both are immediately smitten with one another. They leave the meeting together to get ice cream. Leo tells Gabby he lives with his 17-year-old daughter Aidy (Moira Healy). Gabby shares an apartment with her verbally abusive Mama (Rhonda Cropp).  

Leo and Gabby’s whirlwind romance catches them both off guard. They discuss being fat with bold candor. Their blunt conversations about their relationship, sexuality, and eating are at times funny and discomforting. Satterfield and Jackson show immense vulnerability with courageous performances. Neither hold back. Both genuinely share the harsh truths written into the script. Jackson’s sarcastic delivery is especially endearing. They portray likeable characters who engender strong audience support for their budding relationship.  

Aidy and Mama do not approve of Leo and Gabby’s newfound love. Aidy, Leo’s teenage daughter, has concerns about her father dating an obese woman. She’s acutely aware of her father’s weight related health problems and thinks her dad’s new girlfriend will tempt him to cheat on his diet. Leo overhears Aidy and her boyfriend fat shaming him behind his back. She does all she can to sabotage Leo and Gabby’s relationship.  

Gabby’s Mama is virulent and abusive. She verbally berates Gabby about her weight, demeans her, and tells her she is unlovable. Rhonda Cropp’s over-the-top scenery chewing leaves no doubt that Gabby’s horrific mother is sadistic, manipulative, and controlling. But Mama, as scripted, needs to be softened just a bit. The constant badgering is excessive and makes the character exaggeratedly theatrical and melodramatic.   

The first act of Heavy is well constructed. Its brutality and candor engender significant empathy for morbidly overweight people. The script is heavy handed and may border on overwrought, but it works. Gabby and Leo’s romance is sweet, feels real, and the actors have a genuine connection.  

In act 2, Gabby’s brother Chad (Andre Eslamian) rescues her and helps her hold their mother accountable for her abusive past. Eslamian and Jackson’s anger is warranted, and this part of the story feels authentic and consistent with the first act’s blunt mood. 

Aidy needs to be held more firmly accountable for interfering in her father’s relationship in the second act. She is granted a mawkish pass by both Leo and Gabby through a bit of narrative heart-tugging. It is clear the playwrights indented for Aidy to feel deep remorse and loss, but she’s let off the hook much too easily. The sentimentality feels disingenuous and causes the story to lose some of its dauntless realism. 

Director Nikki Pilato uses the intimate space at the Greenfinch effectively. The stage is flanked by Gabby’s living room on left and Leo’s on the right leaving center stage open for quick scene changes that are well paced. Lighting designer Bradley Rolf’s precisely timed cues work extremely well, especially when the actors need to find hot spots to delivering monologues. In addition to writing and acting in the play, Satterfield designed the set and several creative projections of text conversations that drove narrative with off-stage characters. The build on the text messages was engaging.  

Satterfield and McIntire’s blunt script carries a lot of unflinching truths about being overweight. Heavy takes on weighty topics. There are several frank discussion with adult language and overt sexuality. The writing is bold and has a lot of humor and has much to say about life as an obese person. Heavy is entertaining overall even with the second act plunge into sentimentalism.