WISHFUL DRINKING -- Carrie Fisher's One Woman Show

Tags:

410-4N21WISHFUL.standalone.prod_affiliate.4

So I finally got to sing "Do You Know The Way To San Jose?" on a plane bound for San Jose! My oldest daughter and I went to see WISHING DRINKING, Carrie Fisher's one woman show (created and performed by Carrie Fisher) at the San Jose Repertory Theatre last weekend.

I have been a big fan of Carrie Fisher's since STAR WARS (eventhough I never really noticed the spotty British accent that fades in and out during the film until she pointed it out with a clip from STAR WARS!) I've loved her movies (WHEN HARRY MET SALLY, SHAMPOO), and books (POSTCARDS FROM THE EDGE, SURRENDER THE PINK).
The show was awesome -- so funny, even though it is full of tragic occurrences. Like they say, tragedy plus time equals comedy (or it equals a one woman show). It's like hanging out with Carrie Fisher at her house. She starts the show by singing "Happy Days Are Here Again" as the screen behind her shows newspaper mockups of all the crazy things that have happened to her and her mother, Debbie Reynolds, over the years. Yes, she is a survivor, although she doesn't like that term. Her first anecdote is about the death of a beloved friend that occurred about three years ago and has caused her renewed depression - she woke up next to his lifeless body (he had been staying at her place for a visit). But of course the andecdote includes the fact that she had planned to take tango lessons that morning with Hilary Swank and Ewan McGregor, but had to cancel at the last minute…

Then she went all the way back to her birth - since all doctors were fussing over Debbie Reynolds, and all the nurses were fussing over Eddie Fisher, after he fainted, Carrie feels that lack of attention at her birth is the reason she has done so many crazy things! I'll buy that!

She did a hilarious bit called "Hollywood Inbreeding 101" (see above picture) complete with a blackboard with photos showing the marital links and resulting offspring from her mother's marriages, her marriages (to Paul Simon and Bryan Lourd…the latter left her for another man) and her father's marriages. Very funny and bizarre.

She spent a fair bit of time talking about STAR WARS, wearing that iconic bagel-ear wig. Clearly it changed her life, good and bad. Did you know she isn't wearing a bra under that white Princess Leia dress, since George Lucas explained to her that there isn't any underwear in space? (Your body expands, so you would be strangled by our own bra, which she thought was a wonderful way to go!). Instead her breasts were "held in place" by gaffer tape. Ouch! And all those crazy Princess Leia likenesses - dolls, sculptures, shampoo bottles, pez dispenser, even a life size Princess Leia sex doll. Althought she couldn't figure out why it was called a sex doll…it looked more like Sailor Moon dressed up as Princess Leia…

Carrie Fisher is famous not only for her movies and books but for her addictions, her stays in mental institutions, electric shock therapy, and for her bipolar disorder, which was even written up in a medical journal, complete with Princess Leia picture next to the article. Yet what defines her for me is her humor, and her undeniable interest in the business of living.

The "Special Thanks" section in the program speaks volumes:

To Billie Lourd (her teenage daughter): for her intellect, imperturbability, fashion tips and eventual forgiveness.

To Debbie Reynolds (her mother): for her endless affection and her endless advice (some even solicited), and overall endlessness in general.

To Todd Fisher (her brother): for his even (and thus odd to me) disposition, shared history and co-dependence.

To Eddie Fisher (her father): Thanks for introducing me to his dealer.

To Elizabeth Taylor: Thanks for getting Eddie Fisher out of our house.

Nuff said!

WISHFUL DRINKING is coming to the Seattle Repertory Theatre in the spring. I'm pretty sure something "interesting" will happen to Carrie between now and then, so I'm going back to see it again!
By Suzy Conn on August 1, 2008 11:41 AM | | Comments (0)


Leave a comment