Berkeley Repertory Theatre (Berkeley, CA)
Last year, Carrie Fisher was a sold-out sensation at Berkeley Rep with her hilarious solo show, Wishful Drinking. Since then, it's enjoyed a national tour and become a New York Times bestseller. Now she's back at Berkeley Rep -- before taking the show to Broadway.
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The last date listed for Wishful Drinking was Sunday July 19, 2009 / 7:00pm. (view all dates)
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It had quite a few laugh-out-loud moments, but I was disappointed that we really did not hear much about her drinking or drug abuse and really not much about why she drank. That said, she's pretty funny about other things in her life (Paul Simon, the Leia hair, Elizabeth Taylor, etc.) And she does do a spot-on imitation of her mother.
Very smart, funny and enlightening! A wonderful evening of theater that should not be missed if you like to laugh and like to learn how to not take life so seriously. Run, don't walk, to Berkeley Rep to see this show!!!
Carrie Fisher spares no details of her wild life in this go-for-broke solo show. Break-downs, failed marriages, alcohol/substance abuse, shock treatments for her bi-polarity - it's all out there for the audience to absorb. Raw, hilarious, sad - sometimes, all at once - this performance will appeal to you if you care/dare to go behind the tabloid headlines of a celebrity's unsparing life-so-far.
Uneven but enjoyable, expecially the bits about hollywood inbreeding. Great set!
Would have gotten two stars if it was local theater, but this is a celebrity and successful screenwriter… more should be expected. I thought she’d be much more clever and entertaining, and perhaps address the issue in the show’s title. Overall the show offered rather shallow observations of the lives of other people and not hers.
She summed it up herself at the very beginning with her self-introduction: "My name is Carrie Fisher and I'm an alcoholic." This is obviously a woman who has told her story a few too many times at 12 step meetings, gotten some good laughs, and decided to bring it to the world. I assume that when the show first started she must have had some deeper insights about herself that addressed the show’s title, but those seem to have been lost in revision.
During the first act I took a few little naps while she dragged on about everybody else’s bad marriages. The second act was a little tighter writing with a few more clever lines and references, but it wasn't all that interesting or insightful either. And outwardly blaming her electroshock treatments as an excuse for stumbling and forgetting so many of her lines was just lame… she’s been doing this show for well over a year now.
Overall it seemed to be a stretched out effort to squeeze every last drop of potential humor (and money) out of things that just aren’t that funny to start with.
I've always loved Carrie Fisher's written wit in book and screenplay formats. This was a highly entertaining and enjoyable evening. What a life she's had! Definitely recommend for fans of everything from Star Wars to Debbie Reynolds to Postcards from the Edge.
I really enjoyed the show! Carrie Fisher is a funny woman and definitely a survivor. As a bonus, her dad joined her on the stage at the end of the show and they did an acapella duet, very touching. I am very glad I went!
Went but set up in the rafters. Missed some of the diolog. What I heard was funny.
This is one of the funniest, most irreverent shows I have ever seen! If you missed it in Berkeley, make the effort to see it in New York.
I purchased two section A tickets and received in the 2nd floor 3rd row center, excellent seats.
We enjoyed the show, I liked 1st act more than 2nd, though. 1st act seemed a little more structured, and although Carrie referred her experience as "an addict," she doesn't go into detail like what really drove her to the addiction and how she got out in the second act.
For Broadwary run, I suggest her to forgo with an intermission and make it 90 to 100 min one act play, cutting some materials from the second act. It would speed up the show and make it tight.
Considering the show will charge $111 (top price) on Broadway, seeing this show in an intimate theatre for $28 is a steal. You won't regret it.
Moments of hilarity peppered the solo show, which means that on the whole it was a bit uneven (in laughter quotient and pacing), but still a good time out at the theater. Good for Carrie Fisher for making fun of herself and being an entertaining hostess!
Whitty, raw, funny and delightful. Carrie was a force of energy, wit and emotion. I am truly glad she and Tony Taconne colaborated. They clearly worked well together which made the piece beautifully rounded.
Carrie Fisher was very funny, engaging with the audience, and all the while endearing.
Carrie Fisher was hilarious, heart-warming, engaging, sincere and subversive. I would highly recommend seeing her!
My husband and I loved Wishful Drinking. We couldn't say enough about it. We were smiling and giving an elbow jab to each other through the entire event. Carrie is just great. Anyone who is the least bit interested in Debbie and Eddie, etc. would love this. Debbie gave her mom a hot air balloon ride for her 80th birthday and my husband is a balloon pilot so we got to meet Debbie, who was the photographer, and her mom and Todd, who took the ride. They were very nice and lots of fun. It was a great experience. Go see Wishful Drinking!!!
We loved this show. Carrie Fisher kept us laughing
and completely interested and fascinated with her tales of her life...Very entertaining...Well worth the money. I have recommended it already to friends
The first act had some very funny material. The Hollywood 101 piece is a real hoot. The second act was a bit meandering and she confessed that she hadn't done the show for a while. Pretty gutsy and not mean spirited. Thank you Carrie.
She's amazing, so gut wrenching honest and funny as hell
I really enjoyed this show. Carrie Fisher was so funny and downright witty. Her honesty just made the show so engaging. I was laughing pretty much from the beginning to end.
I loved it. She was hilarious, a lot funnier than I expected. She came across very real and likable. I really enjoyed it. I would definitely see it again. Thanks Carrie!
Per the radio interviews I've heard with her I was expecting something much more intelligent. There were some very funny moments but overall I was a little disappointed.
It seemed rather vapid, and self indulgent.
I expected some deeper insights to be drawn from her life. Instead it felt like a rehash of enquirer articles with some personal anecdotes and not so funny standup comedy thrown in.
It was great!
Very, very funny. You see the work is still "in process" and will probably be tightened up a bit for Broadway (or not); this is an outstanding piece of entertainment.. far better than many Broadway or SF productions I've seen. Deserves all the success I believe it will garner.. and would be just as funny and poignant with fewer swear words. Attended with my 23 year old son;who was equally entertained. BRAVA CARRIE!
Clever and amusing. MUCH better than the similar glimpse-of-a-famous-life play I saw last year, "A Work in Progress by a Life in Progress" by Joan Rivers. Perhaps the difference is that Carrie Fisher is likable.
I saw her in Palm Springs doing a stand up comedy routine for a men's support group about 8 years ago. She was astonishing. She was also thinner, sharper, and far more acerbic. I could say she was easily the funniest comedian I have ever seen. I preferred that over this, but here she is more mature, and more resigned/ accepting of her "exceptionalities."
The show was funny and interesting, well written and well produced. I would not want to be in Carrie's shoes, but I am glad she can make fun of it all. Most of the fun was at the expense of important people in her life (father, mother, friends).- Carrie should also work on her timing: needs more pauses, especially before and after the punchlines, so that she does not come across as monotonous and rambling. One more thing: get a different dress, Carrie!
Carrie Fischer's performance brought me to belly laughs and thoughtful moments. She presented a brave, humor filled journey through her life. Brava!
In the first half of her show, Carrie Fisher portrayed herself and was engaging, and quite funny. In the second half, however, she appeared to disconnect from herself and the show sounded very scripted.
Also, she smokes on stage so anyone sitting in the first few rows may want to consider this when booking.
We really enjoyed the first half and appreciated Carrie coming to Berkeley! She has a unique life, even by Hollywood standards!
I enjoyed the show. Ms. Fisher took a tragic situation and brought humor to it. I enjoyed the evening.
We LOVED this show - Carrie Fisher was fantastic. You felt like you were sitting in her living room as she told funny stories. Do not miss this show!!
Went to show Sat eve with wife looking forward to enjoying the eve. What we experienced was a wonderful 75-80 minute show in a two hour body.
There is too much filler. It should also be done
without an intermission with a shorter running time.
Sound was not good. Her body mics should be adjusted and the two costumes should be trashed
and have someone with taste give her something decent and intertesting to wear.
BWAYSAM
Outrageously funny - poignant - a must see! Carrie Fisher involves the audience in her hilarious travails. Better than therapy.
First act was very funny. Second act needs editing.
This is an entertaining production. Carrie Fisher has a tremendous amount of energy. This is apparently her therapy. The second act could be shorter--went on a little too long. Thoroughly recommend it.
On the whole, it was a very good show. However, I think Carrie is not in recovery. She often forgot her lines. She tried to blame it on past ECT (electro-convulsive therapy, i.e. electro-shock treatment.) I think she was on some substance that induces memory lapses in the middle of shows that she has performed hundreds of times.
Loved the show. Carrie has an ascerbic wit and the show, poignant as it is, is laugh at loud funny. Pokes fun at her parents (quite hostile at times toward her Dad, but he must have deserved it), her addictions and her manic depression.
This was an enjoyable show, entertaining, funny and poignant all at the same time. I would recommend anyone who wants a glimpse into the real life of celebrity lives to attend.
Very funny. Quite the character!
This was my second time - very funny!
I loved it. Carrie Fisher did a great job: very funny anecdotes, insightful, poignant, the show was just the right length too!
Three of us went to this event and really enjoyed it. You do have to be of a 'certain age' (such as those old enough to have seen Star Wars in its original theatrical release) to understand/care about the people she's talking about - but for those of us lucky enough to be of that age - Carrie Fisher is an absolute delight. She has gone through enough pain and weirdness for four lifetimes and is healthy enough to use humor to navigate, explain and heal. (Honestly, how else can one react to a lifesize Princess Leia sex toy? Either with laughter or a sledgehammer - hmm, maybe both). An amazing woman and an amazing performance.
This show is not to be missed. Carrie Fisher is hilarious! I laughed and guffawed the whole show. Much better than I expected it to be. She got a standing ovation, so others must have agreed with me.
Very funny and entertaining. The audience was laughing from the first line.
Carrie's sharing of her exploration and current-time understanding of her life is so deliciously hilarious and fulfillingly smart and meaty! Had tears of laughter a lot (as did several seated in my vicinity), while providing a huge amount of satisfaction from getting to know all about that which she shares.
A couple of other reviews wondered about a lack of more talk about her drinking and drug addictions and why. Perhaps Carrie changes the show from time to time, but the performance I saw had no lack of either. Heck, the entire show is in and of itself the explanation of "why". And the depth/degree of her addictions wasn't hashed out in constant litany of blatant specifics, but instead hilariously and smartly alluded to with the result being full communication of how vastly many and significant they have been. Again, very smart writing and delivery was the high-enjoyment key.
Wish Carrie would extend her run here, because I'd go back again! But I imagine a great break is on schedule before Broadway. Cheers, Carrie! ;)
Enjoyed the first half. Thought it was smooth, and kept me laughing.
The second half went on too long, and too much rambling.
Hilarious and incredibly thoughtful. Carrie Fisher was outstanding!
This was a "peak" theater experience. I enjoyed it so much that I returned the following week, purchasing two tickets for friends...Enjoyed it even more the second time. Carrie is engaging, and keeps the momentum going with audience participation. There were so many worthy one liner I attempted to jot some down. Three of my friends will be joining me on a trip to New York with the notion of this show as the cornerstone event. I can't say enough good things about it.
Wonderful performance by Carrie Fisher. The ending was reminiscing of 'Star Wars'
She's at the top of her bipolar game. My fav line: "Resentment is like taking poison and then waiting for the other guy to die." Her description of the manic depression pride parade is not to be missed.
Enjoyed the show very much. Was entertaining and creative.
The venue was great also because it was small enough to see well enough, and they even allowed you to bring in your food and drink purchased at their food stand.
Gave three stars because seats could have been better located.
Carrie Fisher in Wishful Drinking is outstanding! Carrie invites the audience into her sitting room as she chats about her family and her life with humor and a strong touch of reality. She comfortably and confidently interacts with the audience in a way that makes it fun for all. Be prepared to laugh alot when you attend.
This show is a must-see. Carrie is simply outstanding in this very honest and hilarious look at her crazy hollywood life. RUN, do not walk to the Berkeley Rep!
Fantastically entetaining. Thanks for bringing this show to us.
The show was gossipy, It was like reading people’s magazine. I didn’t feel that I learned something valuable or laughed hard. Kerry was giving facts but didn’t get any deeper and in a way I felt used and stupid for buying the tickets and coming to the show. There were 2-3 jokes that made me laugh but not more then that
It was fabulous. I and the friend I went with had a great time. Carrie Fisher's dad, Eddie Fisher, was there and came up on the stage after the show and sang with Carrie. Amazing. The show was funny, real and never dull. Definitely 4 stars.
Carrie Fisher is wonderful in this one woman show. I saw her last time she was at the BerkRep and I enjoyed just as much. As far as her smoking no one near the stage will be affected at all and actually she puts out more than she smokes. Also, for all that she has to talk about for two hours its understandable that she stops to think about what she wants to say. She has the entire audience screaming with laughter all the way through her performance and when I went on July 10th, and at the end of the performance her father Eddie Fisher came out in his wheel chair and sang a song with her. Get to this show before she leaves for Broadway, you and your friends will love it.
Carrie Fisher is in rare form, if you missed this last time it was in the Bay Area, don't miss it this time!
This is a fabulous production. Carrie Fisher is hysterically funny. I don't know when I've had a better time at the theater. And to be fortunate enough to get half-price tickets? It just doesn't get any better. I am telling all my friends to see this show here in the Bay Area and if they miss it to catch it on Broadway. Just a wonderful night and thanks again to Goldstar.
Better than I expected although I was annoyed by Carrie Fisher constantly rubbing her nose. What's that about? Also although I was at first dismayed that the seats were in the very last row, this proved to be a blessing as she smoked on stage and we could even smell it there. Must have been much stronger in section A.
My friend and I had a great time at this show. Carrie Fisher is an interesting and very funny entertainer. She talks of her life with her famous parents and of her own celebrity with great humor. This show is worth seeing.
We enjoyed this show very much, and really was surpised how candid Carrie is about her life,especially with her father Eddie Fisher sitting right in front of her at that performance. The most touching moment for me (of a certain age) was Carrie and Eddie singing the duet "If I Loved You" at the end of the show. It was so beautiful and a very touchng moment.
Carrie was just wonderful. She's outrageous, edgy, insightful, ironic and incredibly brave. I was amazed how open she was about the challenges (to put it mildly) she's experienced and her ability to see the irony and make all of us laugh was truly incredible. My daughter and I laughed all night long -- even though at 22 she's never heard of Eddie Fisher and knows Carrie primarily as a writer who was in "When Harry Met Sally" more than "Star Wars." I highly recommend to anyone with an edgy sense of humor.
Snappy, fast-paced show...Carrie is funny and cleavor.
A very funny and thought-provoking theatrical memoir. The writing, staging and performance were all excellent.
Carrie Fisher has a great sense of humor, and she shares her life story with the audience in a humorous way, although the story has tragic parts. Totally entertaining evening
Hard to believe we all saw the same show given the mixed reviews I read. We loved it. Didn't have high expectations, perhaps that is why. The theater is lovely and intimate, I believe only around 400 seats and we were in main section and although at the back of that section, it was perfectly fine, great view and could hear every word.
We loved the staging, clever use of the backdrop, and although she did not dwell on her drinking, or drug abuse or bipolar diagnosis, she made plenty of references to it.
And all the stuff about her Dad - as another reviewer said, he does NOT come out well - its very funny and scurrilous. I wish we'd been there when he was in the house, would have been a hoot.
Charming little show, especially for the price!
Carrie Fisher is brilliant, warm, and very funny. I loved the show.
Carrie Fisher was great! Loved her.
Loved it- Much funnier than expected! Talk about making lemonade from lemons!
Hilarious from start to finish. It was also very sweet to hear Carrie referenced her father, Eddie Fisher, 81, who happened to be sitting in the audience. Eddie was wheeled onto the stage and sang a song with Carrie, the touching moment left a huge smile on my face.
Carrie is very entertaining and her audience participation routine were fitting and clever.
LOVED IT!!! Can't remember the last time I laughed continuously for so long. It was fantastic!
I was disappointed in the experience. I had expected some depth, insight and vulnerability but found it coarse and superficial. Most of the humor came at the expense of important people in her life.
She is a character and has had quite a life! Her stories are funny and interesting. I recommend it!
Carrie Fisher provides a funny history of her rather messed up upbringing and life events. It's somewhat inspiring to hear the challenges she has overcome, as well as an entertaining performance.
This is a great show. I'd recommend it.
We really loved the show. Carrie really put herself out there, revealing the highs and lows of her life. She was totally engaged with the audience. We felt that we were at a intimate party rather than a theater venue. On opening night her father, Eddie Fisher,was there. He did not escape unscathed. Then at the end she brought him on stage and they sang a song together. It was a touching end to a bawdy and hilarious evening.
First, there are no bad seats in Berkeley Rep, so we were very pleased with Goldstar's seating. The performance was incredibly quick and very funny. Carrie Fisher has no qualms about poking fun at her incredibly "fraught" life. The audience members who were singled out in her performance were really good natured and carried their parts off well. We had a great afternoon. It is only on reflection that the sadness of Carrie's life story washes over one. But entertaining nonetheless.
I enjoyed it, it was very entertaining and in some parts very funny. Carrie Fisher is quite witty and keeps the audience captivated.
When I was ten years old, I had my Movie Star Scrapbook of Debbie Reynolds....need I say more? I loved the show; loved Carrie Fisher.
Although you cringe at what she has experienced in her life, the way she tells her tale makes it seem okay. Her delivery is clear, her timing is perfect; we laughed all night.
How fortunate we were to be there the same night as Eddie Fisher who I remember on Coke Time, a 15 minute TV show; he sang in his Army uniform and I was glued to the set. When he came on the stage and sang "If I loved you" with his daughter, I got teary. Beautiful moment.
The line at will-call went quickly, and our seats were excellent--front row of the upper section. Carrie Fisher is very entertaining, and all the old Hollywood stories told from her perspective are really funny.
This was a delightful surprise - never expected addiction to be treated so comically. Carrie Fisher does a wonderful job keeping an audience throughly entertained for the entire 2 hours.
I enjoyed it immensely. Carrie Fisher is a consummate artist and her energy level is amazing.
Do not miss this show. It's one that you will enjoy and remember for years to come. The beginning, with all the history of Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher is hilarious!
Quite funny, and witty. Above and beyond the continuous feed of quick wit and humor, the content is very appealing to Gen Xers and their parents as you get an interesting inside look to the experiences of someone who became an icon for their generation. Carrie demonstrates a talent for bringing the audience in and managing it.
it was great, very personal, yet entertaining. shows you how to make the best out of your life. carrie is a great character!
Carrie Fisher's performance had that multi-layered gift of being both hilarious and heart-wrenching at the same moment. She is OUT THERE, and as you're laughing, you know there's a lot more going on than simple hilarity.
We had a wonderful time. It was my first time at the Berkeley Rep theater and I really enjoyed the space. The show was hilarious, and even though we were in the very last row, it still felt relatively intimate.
Crazy, zanny and all out fun night!
Loved it! I think you may have to be past a certain age to really appreciate Carrie's family history. It was all tabloid fodder when I was growing up and younger audience members may have trouble relating and/or connecting some dots. But I took my 25-year-old niece and she loved it, too, so there ya go...
Carrie's a great broad and a great writer and the time flew by. P.S. the night we saw it, Eddie Fisher was in the audience and he was wheeled onstage during the curtain call(s) and the two sang "If I Loved You" to each other, a cappella, and it was incredibly moving.
She was fabulous; hilarious and heartbreaking. It was a special bonus when she sang a duet with her dad, Eddie Fisher, as an encore.
Hilarious......and we got the treat of hearing Eddie Fisher sing with his daughter at the encore!
Liked it. Thought Carrie Fisher got funnier as she got going, and her engagement with audience members in the front row (the night I went) was superb. She is certainly a seasoned performer. I looked at other member reviews prior to writing this and pondered the weight that we ordinary souls put on celebrities, expecting them to be perfect and have no down moments. Isn't that one of the things that drives them to drink and drugs? The expectations? It's a big burden and I'm glad that Fisher got it together in the end, and that she is alive to tell the tale.
There was some funny material in this show but it was overshadowed by Carrie's constant wiping of her nose, making excuses for forgetting her own material and looking at the cue cards off stage.
It still may be worth going, but give her another week or so to get back in the groove of performing.
I was happy to see Carrie Fisher, but was disappointed that she didn't remember what seemed to most of her show and worked off her cue cards. I'm sure she'll get better with more shows. I also felt a little uncomfortable with how she seemed to come from a reactive state as opposed to a proactive one...She got a standing O so maybe it was just me...
Enjoyable enough, sometimes wonderfully so. Ms. Fisher seemed to have a bit of a cold and was unsure of a number of sections of the material. But if you are disposed to like her, she is winning enough to overlook this. I don't see this as a play or real theatre. More like an act (a good one) with some set pieces. Some audience participation parts were particularly creaky and tacky. I wish Berkeley Rep would stay in the play business and get out of vaudeville.
The show was really funny but since it was her first night performing in over a month she said, she was constantly reading cue cards off to the sides of the stage. That was annoying and poor thing needed a tissue badly, as she constantly wiped her nose with her hand... but it was funny!
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Born in a storefront on College Avenue, Berkeley Rep has moved to the forefront of American theatre—and is still telling unforgettable stories. Founded in 1968 by Michael Leibert, the Theatre quickly earned respect for presenting the finest plays with top-flight actors. In 1980, with the support of the local community, Berkeley Rep built the 400-seat Thrust Stage where its reputation steadily g
Website: http://www.berkeleyrep.org/season/0809/4029.asp
In Wishful Drinking, Carrie Fisher tells a true and intoxicating story with the strong, wry wit that she poured into bestsellers like Postcards from the Edge. Born to celebrity parents, she became a silver-screen princess in the original Star Wars when just 19 years of age. But it isn’t all sweetness and lightsabers. Aside from a demanding career and her role as a single mom, our heroine spends her free time battling addiction, weathering the wild ride of manic depression and lounging around mental institutions. It’s an incredible tale—from having Elizabeth Taylor as a stepmother, to wedding (and shedding) Paul Simon, from having the father of her baby leave her for a man, to waking up one morning and finding a friend dead in her bed. Entertainment Weekly declares Drinking “drolly hysterical,” and the Los Angeles Times dubs it a “Beverly Hills yard sale of juicy anecdotes.” Berkeley Rep is Wishful Drinking’s final stop before opening on Broadway this fall—don’t miss this outrageous chance to get Carried away.
Founded in 1968, the Tony Award-winning Berkeley Repertory Theatre has established a national reputation for its ambitious programming and dynamic productions. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Tony Taccone and Managing Director Susan Medak, Berkeley Rep seeks to engage its audience in an ongoing dialogue of ideas. Through its bold choice of material and vivid style of production, Berkeley Rep reflects a commitment to diversity, excitement, and quality. The company is especially well known for its presentations of important new dramatic voices and its fresh adaptations of seldom-seen classics. Berkeley Rep operates two performance spaces: the Roda Theatre, a 600-seat proscenium theatre, and the 400-seat Thrust Stage.
