Written by Erika Morey
The Toronto Fringe Festival is easily one of Toronto’s most exciting cultural events of the year, particularly for theatre lovers who are also full-time moms struggling to manage both time and money. For just ten dollars and an hour of my time, I was able to catch Confessions of a Redheaded Coffee Shop Girl, a phenomenal one-woman show that’s garnered lots of well-deserved buzz after a successful tour of the festival circuit and a sold out opening performance in Toronto.
Confessions of a Redheaded Coffee Shop Girl follows the story of Joanie Little (Rebecca Perry), a recent university graduate who is working at a local coffee shop and struggling to pay off her student debt. Joanie makes the best of her unexpected foray into the barista business by channeling her idol, Jane Goodall, and reporting the behavior of her eccentric clientele as though she were observing chimps in the African jungle.
Under Matt Bernard’s tight direction, Perry’s Joanie Little is vibrant, charismatic, and utterly adorkable. The moment she walks on stage, you’re rooting for this energetic young barista as she navigates the all-too-familiar “jungle” of building relationships, a career, and sense of self-worth as a young twenty-something. You’ll be charmed by her insatiable curiosity about the world around her, will laugh at her awkward dating stories, sassy quips, and hilarious coffee-shop anecdotes, and may even recognize a past version of yourself.
Also woven into the play’s plot are several breathtaking vocal performances by Perry, including a particularly memorable scene at the café’s first-ever open mic night. If the show’s wildly funny dialogue didn’t already win you over, Perry’s rich, sultry vocals will. The girl can sing! She’s also supported by two phenomenal musicians just offstage, Jeffrey P. Jones and Quinton Naughton. Thankfully, CDs featuring recorded music from the show were available in the lobby after the performance.
In short, you don’t want to miss Perry in this remarkable tour-de-force that is both rich in humour and in heart. We may be heading into the last few days of the Fringe, but it’s worth taking an hour to yourself this weekend to escape into Joanie’s coffee shop animal kingdom and take in this spectacular gem of a show.
Confessions of a Redheaded Coffee Shop Girl runs at the Toronto Fringe Festival in the Annex Theatre until Sunday, July 13th. Remaining show times are:
Friday, July 11th – 5:45PM
Saturday, July 12th – 12:30PM
Sunday, July 13th – 4:00PM
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