Charm NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (109)
See it if You like well constructed dialogue and action. Although the ending could use a rewrite, the show presents a tightly woven and modern story.
Don't see it if You can't tolerate another play about the LGBTQ community.
See it if You like informative, well-performed, show about gender exploration and expression. Moving, funny, touching.
Don't see it if You can't understand that sex is not binary.
See it if you want a fun, yet important show with nuanced characters and solid wit that breaks down perceptions and builds up key concepts of identity
Don't see it if you're afraid of alter-concepts of sexual identity, if you're homophobic, racist or closed-minded. A sense of humor and heart are required!
See it if You want an affirming, life-enhancing experience
Don't see it if You object to a rather formulaic structure. Read more
See it if you want to see a story of a transgender woman and trans youth
Don't see it if you are not interested in transgender issues
See it if you like true stories and social justice plots.
Don't see it if you aren't a fan of trippy transition or dream sequences.
See it if transgender teacher helps students feel better about themselves and their worth, and teaches that "charm" will allow one to fit in anywhere.
Don't see it if You are unaccepting of the LGBTQ Community, specifically the transgender community.
See it if you want to see a true story of a transgender woman dealing with a new generation of different thoughts on what it means to be trans
Don't see it if you don't support diversity Read more
Critic Reviews (22)
"Philip Dawkins' 'Charm' immediately creates very distinct personalities among its nine characters as soon as we meet them. It is one of the few plays that makes you care about the welfare and the futures of the people it introduces. As such it is one of the most satisfying and rewarding plays in town. It also demonstrates the message that if you change your behavior you can alter you self-image and outlook on life."
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"A talented cast conjures the figures from Dawkins' fertile imagination, creating a group portrait that's vivid, credible, and heartbreaking...The company gives 'Charm' the vibrancy, as well as vulgarity, of urban street life, steering clear of any case-study detachment...Despite moments of caprice and the occasional creak of melodramatic machinery, 'Charm' is a work of compelling realism."
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"The word has a variety of meanings, but has never been presented with such unique verve as in the current production of 'Charm'...It addresses the LGBTQ community with a spin that gets immediate audience attention...A truly magnificent Sandra Caldwell...This is an important story to tell that will go on and is only just beginning."
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"I was the straight person in the audience enjoying all of this while wondering who was a male, who was female, as well as who identified how, as what gender in the past present and future. At the end of the show, I didn’t really have any more answers about all that. But I did feel that maybe I understood more of the human experience than I did when I first sat down...And that understanding told me I had just seen some good theater. Go see this one, Kids. I highly recommend it."
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"A play that brings more transgender people to the front and center in a fairly honest depiction than I have ever seen.. And that’s huge...Will Davis balances the tightrope walk between education and entertainment by informing casually within authentic conversations...The real trouble I had with 'Charm' is that there are so many characters in this piece that deserve attention and exploration...In the end, 'Charm' and the playwright leave us with more questions than insights."
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"Under Will Davis’s direction, Sandra Caldwell and the rest of the talented cast deliver strong performances and reflect the sincerity of the script and its redemptive message; however, what is missing in this production is a sense of vulnerability or a recognition of the importance of atonement...What happens between Mama and Beta should happen throughout the play to achieve a consistent level of honest discourse."
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“Dawkins's lively, touching, if imperfect comedy…rocks a colorful variation of a familiar format…MCC's perfect casting, which respects the identities of its actors, is likely to offer surprises…'Charm' is classic feel-good territory…Mama…turns the spotlight on the word 'fabulous,' but you need only watch Caldwell's exceptional, award-level performance to understand its meaning…Each actor makes us feel that, in their futures, their characters will add something to the charm bracelet of life.”
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"The overlong first act has too many noisy scenes of the students acting out that shed more heat than light. We don’t get a crisis until the second act. What follows is fairly predictable and not very enlightening. Caldwell quietly creates a vivid character. The others act with more gusto than polish...Director Will Davis could tighten things up a bit. It’s intermittently entertaining, but not interesting enough to justify its length. Cutting it to a tight 90 minutes might have improved it."
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