What I liked
Coffee Date is a cute and sweet romantic comedy for the modern age. Featuring four (shockingly) intertwined individuals, the play explores generational differences when it comes to love and sex, the ways technology obscures or gets in the way of intimacy, and the many social pitfalls on the long journey to happiness. The writing is economical, the jokes are funny, and the ending is really sweet. The actors are all very talented and work off each other well.
I’ve gotta give it up, in particular, for Spencer Weitzel. Every time he enters, he brings a highly-caffeinated energy and wild chaos that is a pure delight to watch. His delivery of that brilliant Taco Bell line demolished me! Even though he was one of the zanier characters, he grounds his performance in a pathos and humanity that makes Roger so lovable. It is a difficult feat to dig your roots into the ground while you soar above the clouds, but Weitzel does it.
I really appreciated how casual the references to bisexuality were, and how bisexuality wasn’t vilified. The show’s sexuality in general is somewhat vanilla for Los Angeles/Fringe, and sometimes in productions like that the bi characters (if we’re present) are portrayed as evil or conniving, but in Coffee Date they’re just human.
What I didn't like
I’d like to have seen more development into the non-romantic and nonsexual sides of these characters. I know they’re more B-plots, but I feel like Laura’s relationships to Tizzy and Roger could have been developed more. (We never really see why Laura and Tizzy are friends, only the ways in which Tizzy adds chaos to Laura’s life.) The characters are currently well-written, but I feel like they can be developed further for even more comedy and heart.
My overall impression
Messy, human relationships collide at a coffeeshop, where generational differences and technological “tools” muddy the waters of love, sex, and connection…
