Fringe Theatre
Confessions of a Red-headed Coffee Shop Girl
The Gilded Balloon
Brian Beacom
Three Stars
OKAY, it doesn’t really matter if the lady who fronts this one-woman show isn’t a natural titian but it’s rather symbolic; what we don’t seem to garner here is a genuine understanding of what it’s like to work as a barista in a Toronto coffee house.
Rebecca Perry plays Joanie, a lady who serves up big smiles with the mochas and cupcakes, an anthropology grad who’s had to settle for watching the assorted creatures who come to take in caffeine.
But unfortunately her characters are so thinly drawn out to the point it’s hard to care about any of them. The comedy is missing and as such, the narrative is lost.
The show is rather like Starbucks. It needs to pay its dues to the community in the form of a serious re-write, to work harder to convince customers it’s not out simply to take our money and run. (Back to Canada in this case).
What Perry does offer however is a very good performance. She’s likeable. You could see her in a TV sitcom, playing the role of the lost and longing coffee shop server who doesn’t get to enjoy much of life’s froth.
And she sings very well, the music moments offering the real highlights.
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