'Wishful Drinking' at the Seattle Rep Delivers the Crazy!

Carrie Fisher's one woman show, "Wishful Drinking", certainly comes through with the laughs.  But at times, her in your face performance proved to be a little too much for some. 

For those that do not know, Fisher's show explores her life, loves, family and career and how all of them led to her bouts with substance abuse and mental issues.  She discusses her star studded family, her Mother, Debbie Reynolds, and her Father, Eddie Fisher, who left her Mother for ElizaBeth Taylor who in turn left him for Richard Burton.  She goes into great detail about her loves, her marriage to Paul Simon (at one point she notes that she and her Mother both have a weakness for short, Jewish singers), and her subsequent marriage to casting agent Bryan Lourd who ended up leaving her for another man.  She speaks to no end about her addiction to drugs and her mental instabilities.  Yes, she states that she is crazy, manic depressive to be exact.  And of course she tells of her starring role as Princess Leia in the "Star Wars" movies and that hideous hairdo she was forced to wear!  All of this is told with grace, poise, and confetti ... and oh yes, HUMOR!  Those of us who were in for it, had an amazing evening, rocking back and forth in our seats as Ms. Fisher invited us to sit there and laugh with her at her history.  As she said, "If my life weren't funny then it would just be true.  And that's unacceptable."  

In our voyeuristic society of "Entertainment Tonight" and the E! Network where celebrity gossip is treated like a staple of daily news, it's no wonder that we love shows like this.  Shows that give us a little look into the lives of our country's version of royalty, Hollywood.  And her pedigree certainly establishes her as a member of that Royal Family.  And so when one of the Royals grants an audience to let us in on some dish, we go!  But this is not a simple little interview on the Tonight Show.  Fisher goes into the deep dark places of her life and mines some comic gems out of her most miserable moments.  As she says, they're funny now.  And she also points out early on that she is going to try and shock us.  She seems to enjoy getting into her audience's face.  And that, to me, seems like fair payment for the inside look she is giving us. 

Fair payment, if you are up for that sort of thing.  If this is not your kind of thing, if conversations of affairs and booze are not your cup of tea, then maybe you stay away from this one.  And if you are not one who likes to become part of the show, then maybe you stay away from the front row.  And this is where the show proved to be a little too much for some on the night I saw it.  Ms. Fisher delights in drawing in her audience and interacting with them and for the most part the audience delights in it as well.  But there were a few in the front few rows who were being picked upon, who did not take it well.  One disappeared during intermission and the other stormed out during the show and shouted a few expletives at the stage.  But Fisher handled it with her usual grace and class and shouted right back at him, which the rest of the audience ate up even more.  So I guess what I'm saying is, if you want to get up close and personal then, by all means, sit in the front rows.  If not, for pity's sake, sit further back! 

But events like this just show how quick and eloquent Ms. Fisher is.  Her show is scripted but there is so much interaction that moments like this are bound to happen.  And that makes it even more fun, live theater at it's best.  So, if her brand of humor is not your style then may I suggest some other diversion for your evening?  Maybe catching the Rep's "Breakin' Hearts and Takin' Names" with humorist Kevin Kling, just down the hall from "Wishful Drinking".  But if you're game for a hysterical evening all about Hollywood Sex, Drugs and Rock n' Roll (she was married to Paul Simon and her Father was Eddie Fisher remember.  OK, not exactly Rock n' Roll but you get the idea) then get your tickets and catch the crazy lady before she moves on. 

"Wishful Drinking" plays at The Seattle Repertory Theatre's Bagley Wright Theatre through May 3^rd.  For tickets or information contact the Rep box office at 206-443-2222 or toll free at 877-900-9285 or visit them online at www.seattlerep.org.

 

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