"Charley Layton radiates celeb self-importance (and can’t conceal his real-life musical genius) as Mr. Black."-Adam McGovern, "The Wild Party's Over", HiLoBrow
"Accordion-clad Jimmy Hines, breathed into life by the paramount Charley Layton, expertly sings and plays ditties" -Elizabeth Glasure, "Speakeasy Dollhouse: The Bloody Beginning", nytheatreguide.com
"In the commotion preceding the trial, Jimmy Hines, a corrupt Irishman nicely played by Charley Layton...slips me a C-note and points to a heavyset man in a suit. I do not know who the man is, but he turns out to be Detective Crane...Jimmy wants me to seduce Detective Crane into giving me a document, but as I run my hands over his suit jacket and feel a piece of paper, he insists that it's only cash...I apologize to Jimmy...Immersive theater is an active rather than passive art form." -Victoria Ordin, "Speakeasy Dollhouse: The Bloody Beginning", Broadway World
"First comes The Old Man (Charley Layton) with a scowl and his angry accordion-playing...they have a hit on their hands; the everyday physical world melts away as the accordion sets everything into motion." -Shoshana Roberts, "Vera & Valya & The Magical One Cat Circus", Theater Is Easy
"Charley Layton is her shirtless Russian husband Ivan, a cross between Iggy Pop and a wet hen, always negative and carping. He plays accordion and ukulele with a punkish verve...There is a REALLY nice, EXPERT balance between well crafted material (some REALLY smart writing, BTW), well rehearsed musical turns, and physical comedy….with improv, loose, living in the moment which keeps the thing alive and keeps us all on our toes." -Trav S.D., "Bathtub Jen and the Henchmen", Travalanche
"Bathtub Jen and the Henchmen is a forty-five minute love letter to theatrical invention, music, and even the films of Quentin Tarantino. The ensemble of Harder (Jen), Heroy (Kelly), and Layton (Ivan) are entertainers of the first order and are not to be missed." - PJ Grisar, "Bathtub Jen and the Henchmen", nytheater.com
"Melissa Meli as Hero and Charley Layton as Claudio are jewels..." Richard Grayson, "Much Ado About Nothing", Brooklyn World
"There is Charley Layton, a dialect coach given billing, and he’s done a fine job, as have his actors." - Richard Seff, "Travels with My Aunt", DCMetroTheaterArts
"Character-defining gestures and changes of voice are concise and thoroughly evocative, but also surprisingly unshowy." -Ben Brantley, "Travels with My Aunt", NYTimes
"These actors have taken on Odets’ idiosyncratic language and New York accent with great finesse.” -Susan Hasho, "Awake and Sing!", Theater Pizzazz
"Their taunting banter — spoken in heavy Bronx accents that never quite become caricature, even if 'squirm' does sound like 'squoim' — vibrates with a screwball energy that spins into violent territory, both physical and emotional.” -Laura Collins-Hughs, "Awake and Sing!", NYTimes
“The actors play it exactly as written, complete with Bronx and Yiddish inflections…the performances are spot on.” -Roma Torre, “Awake and Sing!”, NY1 Theater Review
"Dialect coach Charley Layton has served this piece well as the tonal inflections of the entire cast...are impeccably true."-Di Jayawickrema, "Weekend at an English Country Estate", nytheatre.com
“The two performers…inhabit the period believably, aided by their accents…” –Stephen Cedars, “The Dumb Waiter”, nytheatre.com
"Greg Oliver Bodine steals the show with his never faltering accents..." -Juliana Adame, "The Baltimore Waltz", broadwayworld.com
"Charley teaches with an infectious sense of play. He has a unique approach that breathes new life into study of speech." -Amelia Blaire, Actress, "True Blood"
"Charley taught Speech during my first year at the Atlantic Theater Company conservatory. His enthusiasm, expertise and patience made Speech easily my favorite class and helped me to reclaim my inner nerd as he encouraged me to dive in learning IPA." -Jarrod Spector, Actor, "Jersey Boys"
"As an actor, speech/dialects/accents are very important to my profession and one needs to have a mastery of all things vocal. Charley has this mastery and helped me to reach for it as well. I still practice what I learned in his class, as it's vital to my successes, and he instilled in me that drive for this particular part of my career. I highly recommend him!" -Fernando Contreras, Actor, "Ghost: The Musical"
"Charley is what I would call a 21st Century cutting-edge speech teacher, because while he is rooted in certain traditions, he is ever-evolving and always exploring. He trained in vocal production with me, and applies whole body voice principals to the speech work he teaches. He is beloved by his students, and he is always inventing unique and new ways to work with individuals, taking them where they are at in the moment, and playfully challenging them to go further. I am excited about the direction Charley is taking his explorations as a coach, integrating the influence of Dudley Knight's speech work, and even then, making that work his own. He has special skills in dialect training, and I have watched productions he has coached, first hand; the work is excellent. I highly recommend Charley Layton as a speech and dialect coach for the next generation. Did I mention he's a fun young man to be around? He is." -Katie Bull, Voice Teacher, Whole Body Voice