Wishful Drinking at Bank of America Theatre | Theater review

“It’s funny now.” Carrie Fisher emphasizes this point throughout her fantastic solo show, reminding audience members that years of personal hardship have led to their laughter. Born into a spotlight that would only intensify after Star Wars, Fisher speaks candidly about her relationships and career. Her honesty as a writer works with her charisma as a performer to create an inspiring one-woman show.

Fisher outlines her family history on a huge bulletin board detailing a web of scandal originating from her parents, pop singer Eddie Fisher and actor Debbie Reynolds. The board serves as a visual summary of years of psychotherapy, as Fisher traces her personal flaws to the tempestuous relationships that surrounded her as a child.

Fisher jokes that George Lucas ruined her life when he cast her in Star Wars, but she’s accepted that she’ll never outlive that cinnamon-bun hairstyle and metal bikini. While the Hollywood analysis is rife with comedy, Wishful Drinking is at its best when Fisher brings her focus inward, specifically to her bipolar disorder. She talks about her manic and depressive moods in simple yet insightful terms: One is the meal, the other is the check.

Fisher’s life has taken her from chorus girl to pop-culture sensation, through divorce, addiction and mental illness. By examining it through a lens of self-deprecating wit, Fisher showcases her vulnerability, but also the strength she finds in laughing about it all later.