Charolais NYC Reviews and Tickets
Member Reviews (78)
See it if you enjoy lively solo shows. NS fully commits to her roles and shines. She brings out the script's humor and pathos.
Don't see it if you're looking for profundity; Charolais is a bit fluffy. Still, the intimate setting keeps you engaged. Feels like a private performance.
See it if You like one person shows. This quirky sweet monologue takes you on a lovely journey into Irish farm country and paints a vivid picture.
Don't see it if You're easily bored with one person shows. This is a good one but was best once it was over. Getting to the full picture was a bit slow.
See it if An exceptional one woman show (she also wrote it) with a fascinating story. Absolutely loved it! Such a treat! So well written & performed!
Don't see it if You don't like intimate or one person shows. (But get over it and see it.)
See it if Suspenseful, humorous, surprising play about a servant girl, farmer, farmer's mother, and cow... all played by one terrific actress.
Don't see it if You have trouble with Irish accents. You aren't in the mood for a silly yet edgy and touching experience. Read more
See it if you like originality and fun. Noni Stapleton is marvelous switching between a woman in love and a cow hoping for love in excellent French.
Don't see it if sophistocated humor is not your style.
See it if You enjoy off-beat stories. You like magical realism elements in theatre. You want terrific acting. You want a clean, well-edited script.
Don't see it if Unless you don't enjoy magical realism, there's no reason to miss this.
See it if Like surprising & edgy. It's an Irish yarn written/performed w wit/incisiveness about what's in the mind of a farm girl & a French cow. Wow.
Don't see it if don't like solo shows w 1 person performing multi-roles. This is not your usual theater fare. It's dark humor, artfully told. Read more
See it if you enjoy quirky tales of farm life in rural Ireland. One actress, four characters, including a cow! And what a wonder of a French cow. .
Don't see it if you dislike one-person shows, no matter how clever and entertaining; you have no interest in farmers and their issues; livestock bore you. Read more
Critic Reviews (21)
“The brilliantly twisted thing about ‘Charolais’ is that what Siobhan wants, ultimately, is a snug little nuclear family...The trouble with pitting Siobhan against the nameless Charolais, at least in Ms. Stapleton’s performance, is that the cow is by far the more charming of the two…Still, we feel glimmers of sympathy for Siobhan, an antiheroine too petty to inspire outright affection. When the play’s too-tidy ending gives her what she thinks she wants, we suspect the triumph is fleeting.”
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"The one-woman show cleverly captures passion, heartache, and feelings about motherhood from multiple perspectives...The play is captivating from the first minute to the last...Stapleton is a master storyteller and her talents are very well employed in 'Charolais'...It is a memorable, well-crafted and wonderfully performed piece of theatre."
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"This earthy, faintly macabre tale is delivered with remarkable skill by Stapleton...She transforms into the Charolais in all her hauteur—although I fear these passages represent her one misstep: They're the stuff of sketch comedy, a satirical conception that represents a jarring break from the story's naturalistically rendered human barnyard...Even so, I'm betting that Stapleton, who is equally adept as a writer and performer, will leave you spellbound."
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"You haven't lived until you've heard a lusty French Charolais heifer mooningly mooing a rendition of 'La Vie En Rose'...That is just one of the gloriously rich and comic moments in 'Charolais'...Stapleton is a marvel as she alternates between the roles of Siobhan and the cow. All it takes is whipping off the tie from her ponytail and going into a slouch to make the transformation...You are in for an evening that both delights and surprises, especially as it leads to an unexpected conclusion."
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"Engaging, flavorful, and suspenseful...Stapleton offers a richly detailed portrait of an ordinary person that revels in the mundane...Stapleton's gutsy performance is commanding. Her assured vocal delivery mines every laugh and bit of drama out of the events...Chaoimh’s accomplished staging hauntingly conveys the senses of reality and illusion with lightheartedness and tension."
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"The play is unexpectedly original, well written, acted, and directed. It’s off the wall, but in the best sense...Stapleton plays Siobhan with earthy freshness and honesty...And we buy it. All of it. The situation is pithy not whimsical, relatable (I swear), frustrating, infuriating, funny, and touching. You’ll never see anything like it. Director Ni Chaoimh conjures her characters with imagination and compassion, never losing sight of emotion in favor of flippancy."
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"It stars the wildly talented Noni Stapleton, who also wrote this charming, funny, and wicked little play...Smartly directed by Bairbre Ni Chaoimh, Ms. Stapleton plays all the parts...Performed in a fast-moving 65 minutes, the show is a remarkably honest exploration of love, lust, jealousy, and need. It is as funny as it is brutal. This is one of those special little shows that one hopes theater nominators from various committees will not overlook. But if they do, you shouldn’t."
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"Ms. Stapleton’s script has meat on its bones and serves up enough twists and turns, hints, and surprises to sate the appetite of the sophisticated theatregoer...Under director Bairbre Ní Chaoimh’s steady hand, 'Charolais' is a welcomed battle of wisdom and wits tempered by whimsy delivered with empathic grace throughout Noni Stapleton’s authentic and believable performance."
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