Fisher lays it on the line in ‘Wishful Drinking’
The universe knows her as Princess Leia, the fearless rebel leader with the cinnamon bun hairstyle.
Chicagoans will get to see the real princess, Carrie Fisher, when the popular “Star Wars” actress and sought-after Hollywood rewrite specialist appears in her one-woman show “Wishful Drinking,” starting Tuesday, Oct. 4, at Chicago’s Bank of America Theatre for a two-week run.
Her traveling show began in 2007 in Los Angeles and was filmed as an HBO special. In it, Fisher takes on all subjects, including her drug addiction, bi-polar disorder, testy relationships with men (including former husband Paul Simon), celebrityhood, battle with weight, and growing up the daughter of Debbie Reynolds and singer Eddie Fisher.
I talked with Carrie Fisher by phone.
Q. What do you know about men that you didn’t know when you were younger?
A. What do I know about men? Not much, if you’ll check my record.
I like men. I like talking to them. I like spending time with them. There are different things I have had to adjust to. You have a name in the world, it’s difficult for a male to, well, you know, you’re kind of a dominant partner. That’s hard on a male. I don’t think there are too many guys who are secure enough to put up with being called Mr. Fisher.
Q. Anything else?A. What I#146;ve learned is that if you#146;re the one who#146;s more visible in the world, then you#146;re going to have to take a bit of a beating at home. Not a bit of beating, literally, but you#146;re going to have to be smaller in the home if you#146;re bigger in the world. It has to even out somehow.Q. That doesn#146;t sound very fair, does it?A. Maybe it#146;s unfair, but it#146;s the way things are. We#146;re all programmed that the male is the dominant partner. It#146;s just historically the way things have been. I don#146;t think it#146;s fair to judge that as being fair or unfair.Q. A lot of people probably don#146;t know that you were one of Hollywood#146;s most sought-after script doctors for a while. How many scripts did you rewrite?A. Maybe 10 to 15. Some day I#146;ll have to sit down and check. I didn#146;t work any magic. I was hired to make the chicks smarter and the love scenes better. I had a lot of fun doing it, and sometimes I didn#146;t. Mostly, it was fun and I worked with some very good directors.Q. Did you prefer to be in front of the camera or behind?A. I never wanted to be in front of the camera because I never wanted to worry about what I looked like. I was never really good with my relationship with myself that way. And I am a wordsmith. I like that. It#146;s my mind of math.Q. How has your live show changed from the HBO special show a year ago?A. I do different stuff in it. The frame of it is the same. A good part of the show is where I improvise and just let the audience ask questions, according to things that are happening at the time. I don#146;t like to get trapped with something that I#146;ve memorized.Q. Do you derive any joy from performing?A. Yeah, absolutely. Because you talk to people from the best part of yourself. I can go onstage and be in a really bad mood. Depressed. By the end of it, it#146;s transformed. If you act like the best version of yourself, eventually, you fake it #146;til you make it. (My show) is the ultimate fake it #146;til you make it.Q. What#146;s the weirdest question you#146;ve ever been asked?A. Did I put makeup on before the paramedics arrived to see if Greg (Stevens) was alive, my friend who died at my house.Q. A professional journalist actually asked you this?:A. No, a human ... well, I consider journalists to be human.
Wishful Drinking
Location: Bank of America Theatre, 18 W. Monroe St., Chicago, (800) 775-2000, broadwayinchicago.com
Shows: Times vary. Begins 8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 4, and runs through Sunday, Oct. 16.
Tickets: $25 to $65