Being of a certain age, 2016 has become a bit of a ranking year as far as deceased celebrities. When I heard about Carrie Fisher, I went to look, because I had just been discussing seeing Fisher when she came to DC for the Wishful Drinking tour and found I apparently didn't blog about it. (What? I know!) One woman shows, particularly those using a lot of audience interaction are a lot of lightning in a bottle moments strung together so it's hard to describe except to say one of the many things that made Carrie Fisher's later interviews and writing and one woman shows entertaining was she had reached a very specific point of wry humor, laced with really clear eyed understanding of her life, her challenges - both internal and external, and what she needed to best make the world work for her. So basically, I laughed and came home with a desire to be drinking buddies (even if the drinks for non-alcoholic) with her.
Someone with that level of fame that early, that level of life challenges, could have easily opted out of the spotlight, and I'm sure there were days, weeks, and years where Fisher wished she did or had. But she figured out how to set what seemed from my chair in the audience to be healthy boundaries. She did interviews with her assistive dog. She told Daisy Ridley make sure they give your character clothes, so that you are not forever an action figure without clothes. She talked about addiction, mental health, and heartbreak in ways that now seem less refreshingly honest because people like her were out there talking about it early and often.
I am so sad for her family for their loss and so grateful the rest of the world got to experience so much of her.
