The Return of Princess Leia

A nice line from Christopher Shinn's play, WHAT DIDN'T HAPPEN goes like this:

"I keep trying to convince Elaine to go back to regional theater, where she might be cast in roles she'd never get to do in New York––Lady Macbeth, Mother Courage––plays in cities where people actually go to the theater to be told a story, not just confirm their status as masters of the universe."

Perhaps blogging kind of relates to the above, but I still like to be told a story, even a true story like the one being told at Studio 54:

Wishful Drinking

If you follow the doings of Hollywood at all, you know that one of the most famous scandals was when Eddie Fisher left Debbie Reynolds for Elizabeth Taylor.  That’s just one event in a very complicated succession of marriages and divorces connected to the daughter of Fisher and Reynolds, Carrie Fisher.  The Hollywood craziness definitely affected Carrie Fisher in not so positive ways that she is still dealing with, not to mention she became an icon in her own right when she accepted the role of Princess Leia in STAR WARS.  That’s enough to really mess you up!  This single credit (or call it a triple credit due to the trilogy) has made Carrie Fisher immortal and reason enough to enable her to fill a Broadway theater.  Her one woman show, WISHFUL DRINKING, is not a play at all, but a visit with Carrie Fisher, who basically explains her crazy Hollywood life with the greatest sense of humor.  One expected to get some funny stories out of her, but she is actually a rather wonderful stand up comedian and the laughs are plentiful.  She has golden material to work with for sure.  One terrific segment involves Fisher leading us through “Hollywood Inbreeding 101,” as a large bulletin board of PR photos that makes up a kind of family tree flies in.  With a pointer, Fisher helps us keep track of all the marriages and divorces that lead her daughter to start dating Elizabeth Taylor’s grandson.  She just wanted to make sure they weren’t somehow related. “Related by scandal,” Fisher concludes.  Another segment takes us through how Fisher’s Princess Leia image has been turned into dolls, pez dispensers and sex toys and a very funny roasting of that signature hairdo.  “George Lucas owns my image.  Whenever I look in the mirror I have to send him a few bucks.”  WISHFUL DRINKING is an honest and very funny evening from a very smart lady who has been through a lot and isn’t afraid to tell it like it is.  Although the evening isn’t a proper play, it isn’t a lecture either.  Fisher and director Tony Taccone have made the event completely entertaining, utilizing multi-media and music.  Fisher even sings and rather well.  For a comic, yet nostalgic finish, Fisher hugged a stuffed doll of the robot R2D2 saying, “And now a poem by George Lucas,” and proceeded to recite the Princess Leia holigram speech to Obi-Wan Kanobi.  Carrie Fisher is delightful.