Carrie Fisher is one of those celebrities that I love in the back of my mind, but who isn’t part of my daily life. However, when I saw that she had a one-woman show up at Studio 54, I had to go. ‘Wishful Drinking’ is a humble and humorous romp through Fisher’s various marriages (totally forgot she was married to Paul Simon!) and mental breakdowns that showcases how Princess Leia herself is still crazy after all these years.
Most of the people in attendance at the show were older Manhattan sophisticates who looked at my friend and I as though we must have snuck in or something, but the material Fisher performed would appeal to anyone who is a fan of drug stories and old Hollywood gossip. Fisher, who is the daughter of singer Eddie Fisher and actress Debbie Reynolds, shared what it was like to grow up constantly battling for the attention of such famous (and eccentric) parents.
At one point during the show, a chart was lowered from the ceiling containing pictures of Fisher’s family tree, and she used a pointer to go through each marriage on both sides of her family, as well as her own marriages, to have the audience help her figure out if any of the intersections were incestuous at all. One of the punchlines of this bit was the fact that her mom once suggested that she have a child with one of her own ex-husbands because he had such pretty eyes.
As would be expected, ‘Wishful Drinking’; contained a fair amount of Star Wars jokes. Fisher made light about the fact that she will forever be haunted by the hideous hair-don’t she was made to wear in the film, and told behind the scenes dirt like how George Lucas made her lose a handful of pounds for the role, even though she only weighed 108 pounds to begin with.
Although she was inviting the audience to laugh at her misfortunes, the intimate feel of the two-hour show left viewers with a ‘good for you, Carrie’; sort of feeling. Fisher closed the show by doing her famous ‘help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi; you’re my only hope,’ speech from Star Wars, then she pretended to pass out dead on the floor.
Check out tickets and show times for ‘Wishful Drinking’ by going to: www.roundabouttheare.org
– Kelly McClure
