Carrie Fisher is currently on Broadway performing her one woman, autobiographical play Wishful Drinking. Ms. Fisher has had tremendous success as a novelist and screenwriter. However, she is primarily known, of course, for her portrayal of Princess Leia in the Star Wars film series.

It is difficult to describe the sensation that Star Wars created in 1977 for those who did not witness it. To say that the film was very popular when it first appeared is a vast understatement. The release of the movie was an epochal moment in American popular culture, comparable to the emergence of Frank Sinatra, Elvis and The Beatles. The effect of Star Wars continues to be felt in current Hollywood cinema with its emphasis on fast pace, special effects and Manichean good versus evil story lines.

Despite enjoying so much success in her career, Ms. Fisher's life has suffered more than its share of complications and trying episodes. Wishful Drinking functions partly as a parable that success does not in and of itself bring happiness. (Failure, of course, is hardly conducive to a sense of well being, either.)

During the course of the play, Ms. Fisher humorously recounts the tumultuous and complex events of her past. There is enough material in her background to fill several long, colorful novels or mini-series. She was born in 1956 to parents who were Hollywood royalty, Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds. Eddie Fisher was a very popular singer in the '50's and Reynolds was a major film star. As a couple, Fisher and Reynolds were known as America's Sweethearts.

However, unlike royalty in fairy tales, royalty in Hollywood does not necessarily live happily ever after. In an eerie precursor to the Jennifer Aniston, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie love triangle, Eddie Fisher left Reynolds early in their marriage for Elizabeth Taylor. Taylor had been widowed by the death of her husband, producer Michael Todd. To make matters more complicated, Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds had served as Best Man and Maid of Honor at Taylor and Todd's wedding.

The above only barely begins to touch the surface of Carrie Fisher's complicated life. She recounts both her and her mother's failed marriages (between them they had five). She also recounts the demise of her mother's fortune at the hands of Debbie's subsequent husbands. While all of this material is on one level sad, indeed tragic, Fisher relates it all from a very funny perspective. She has a sure-fire comedic wit and delivery and I have rarely heard such consistent laughter in the theater.

While the first half of Wishful Drinking deals mostly with the outward events of her life, the second act focuses more on Fisher's inner struggles. She speaks forthrightly and at some length about her manic depression, addictions, and treatments. While recognizing the darkness of these issues, Fisher again deals with these matters in a comedic vain. Humor can be a form of wisdom. Fisher shows that it can also be a method of mastering or at least recognizing problems.

Ms. Fisher sang at the beginning and end of the show. She has a beautiful singing voice, which shouldn't be surprising knowing that both of her parents were known for their vocal talents. One would hope that if Wishful Drinking undergoes future revision more opportunity would be given for Ms. Fisher to display her own vocal ability.

C.S. Lewis has been quoted as saying, "We read to know that we are not alone." Perhaps the same thing can be said of theatre. Anyone experiencing adversity can't help but be comforted and perhaps inspired by Fisher's ability to rise above the many challenges that have confronted her. The thin line between comedy and tragedy is aptly demonstrated in Wishful Drinking. After listening to Carrie Fisher's struggles, it is reassuring that laughter and comedy have the last word.

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