Ok, Lets begin..... Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away....
If only that were the truth. The reality is, I'm in New York City and the galaxy far, far away was Studio 54, which is now a Theatre! About two and a half weeks ago, I received an email from an old college buddy who offered me a few free tickets to Carrie Fisher's show "Wishful Drinking."
I was extremely excited! Who wouldn't want to see Princess Leia?!? I was even more excited because that friend also had the power to get me back stage to meet Carrie Fisher in person!
Let's be honest... Carrie Fisher is a little old for me and I tend to swing the other way. But who knows?!? Maybe she would see me and we would magically fall in love. (wouldn't that be something to call home about; "Hi mom, I'm in love with Carrie Fisher.... you know, Princess Leia. She's inspecting my light saber RIGHT NOW!!!)... and truthfully, if you knew me, I probably would make that call!! My mother LOVES it when I tell her these things... especially at 3am! Being from a VERY small town, an affair with Princess Leia would make me a county wide celebrity.... all three towns would pool their money and resurrect a statue of me in our town square! If that's not the power of the FORCE, I don't know what is...(Seriously, they LOVE Star wars in small country towns) So with all that said, the pressure was on!!
I had heard about her book "Wishful Drinking" and watched Carrie on the Today Show. (we are on a first name basis, we've met) It seemed like such a great idea... Why write a story that is fictional when your life and experiences are better than anything you could make up! So... before I saw the show, I bought the book and read it cover to cover in one night.
I LOVED IT!! I LOVED HER! If I wasn't in love before... I certainly am now.
So.... Buy the book. OR.... See the show! It's worth every penny! (or a few comps if you know a guy)
Carrie came from Hollywood royalty. She has seen things that only a very privileged person could see. In contrast, she also has had many sad and tragic things happen. She has taken many of these experiences and created very dry, sarcastic yet extremely funny material that works both as a book and a one woman theatrical show.
The whole thing is very revealing and extremely exposing for Carrie. I felt like we were old friends and she was sharing all these little dirty secrets that only a true Hollywood princess would know. So before the show, I had a few drinks. (As I assume Carrie would have wanted) and laughed my ass off! So much so that a little old lady sitting in front of me, asked if I was on drugs and if I could keep my laughter to a minimum!?! I found this to be Ironic... who would have thought that would happen at a comedy show about real life alcohol and drug addictions....?!?
I must share my favorite moment... as I'm sure Carrie intended; At the end of the show, this stoic music starts and the lights dim, leaving only a spot on Carrie. Complete with a wig fashioned in "A New Hope" style cinnamon buns, our Princess Leia re-emerged. She recited her entire "help me obi wan kenobi, you're my only hope" monologue!! Carrie said she's been trying to forget those words for years, but for some reason cannot. (even after electroshock therapy!) Regardless, I almost shit my pants! It was magical.... the book, the show, the drinks, the little old lady sitting in front of me....all of it! I really enjoyed "Wishful Drinking"
After all that... the time came to sneak backstage to profess my love! I found my old college friend and tried to see what strings could be pulled. He apologized but said that he couldn't help. I guess Carrie can be quite the "Diva" backstage. My only chance to meet her would be outside the stage door with all the regular riff-raff. What was I gonna do?!?
I got another drink and waited! (I'm telling you, Carrie and I would be great friends!)
After about 30minutes she emerged from the side door. I knew it was my only chance to get her to fall in love with me and become a celebrity in my home town. I started talking to her as she signed a slew of autographs... I told her how much I liked the show and that a little old lady asked me to monitor my laughter.... She responded "REALLY" I think she was just as surprised as I was! Finally she took my playbill and signed. I looked her dead in the eye and said "It's been a pleasure".... She responded with a cordial smile and jumped into her black SUV, driving off into the bright lights of Times Square.
Shit!?!
It didn't happen the way I had hoped... It wasn't love at first sight. After all was said and done, I realized that I was very lucky to see the show, read the book and even for a fleeting moment, meet Carrie Fisher. I still called home and told mom all about it...(I think she called the local news paper to run the story)
The moral is this.... Carrie Fisher is too old for me and it would never have worked anyway. We're just from two different galaxies.
But I sure had fun!!!