Photo Coverage: Final Curtain Call of Fisher's 'Wishful Drinking' at Arena

On September 28th, 2008 Arena Restaged concluded its presentation of Carrie Fisher's one woman show Wishful Drinking. The show began a stricktly limited engagement on September 5th.

Carrie Fisher is the life of the party in Wishful Drinking. Onstage, she recounts a true and intoxicating story with the same strong, wry wit that she poured into bestsellers like Postcards from The Edge. Born to celebrity parents, Fisher lands among the stars when she’s picked to play a princess in a little movie called Star Wars. But it isn’t all sweetness and light sabers. As a single mom, she also battles addiction, depression, mental institutions, and that awful hyperspace hairdo. The Wall Street Journal raves, “Princess Leia has recycled her nightmarish life yet again, this time putting it onstage in the form of an exceedingly clever one-woman show. [She’s] drop-dead funny about a string of personal crises so horrific that the only alternative to laughing at them is slashing your wrists in sympathy.”

Carrie Fisher has been a compelling force in the film industry since her feature film debut opposite Warren Beatty in the 1975 hit Shampoo. The daughter of Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, she became a cultural icon when she played Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy. Her star-studded career includes roles in countless films such as Austin Powers, The Blues Brothers, The Burbs, Charlie’s Angels, Garbo Talks, Hannah and her Sisters, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, The Man with One Red Shoe, Scream 3, This is My Life, When Harry Met Sally, and Wonderland. Her next films – Fanboys, White Lightnin’, and the remake of The Women – will be released this year. In 1987, Fisher’s book, Postcards from The Edge, leapt onto the New York Times’ bestseller list and netted her the Los Angeles Pen Award for Best First Novel. Three more bestsellers followed: The Best Awful, Delusions of Grandma, and Surrender the Pink. Fisher turned Postcards into a screenplay for the hit film starring Shirley MacLaine and Meryl Streep, and is currently adapting The Best Awful for HBO with producers Bruce Cohen and Dan Jinks. Her writing has also appeared in Details, Harper’s Bazaar, the New York Times, Travel & Leisure, Vogue, and many other major publications. Fisher’s television credits range all the way from Laverne and Shirley to Sex in the City, with recent appearances on popular programs such as 30 Rock and Weeds. Her experiences with addiction and bipolar disorder – and her willingness to speak honestly about them – have made her a sought after speaker and respected advocate for these communities.

Photos by Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.

 

Wishful Drinking poster

Wishful Drinking Shirt

Wishful Drinking Shirt

Wishful Drinking Shirt

Wishful Drinking Shirt

Wishful Drinking Shirt

Carrie Fisher

Carrie Fisher

Carrie Fisher and the Production Team

Carrie Fisher and the Production Team

Carrie Fisher and the Production Team

Carrie Fisher

Carrie Fisher and the Production Team

Carrie Fisher

Carrie Fisher

Carrie Fisher

Carrie Fisher and the Production Team

Carrie Fisher and the Production Team

Carrie Fisher

Carrie Fisher and the Production Team

Carrie Fisher and the Production Team

Carrie Fisher

Carrie Fisher

Carrie Fisher

Carrie Fisher