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| Fisher’s solo show is frank but a bit messy | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| By Chris Page, Get Out | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| May 1, 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Drawing to an abrupt close the opening night of her autobiographical solo show, “Spy in the House of Me,” Tuesday night at Scottsdale’s Theater 4301, the oft-troubled actress/writer bent down — the glitter dusted on her hair and décolletage shimmering in the stage lights — to address an audience member. “You look disappointed,” Fisher said, offering strange consolation: “I’m sure there’s excellent TV on tonight.” A droll laugh line, yes, but it also voiced the general discomfort and dissatisfaction (surely Fisher felt it, too) over this messy, this slapdash of a production — seemingly random spurts of storytelling, rambling question-and-answer, punctuated by occasional redeeming bursts of sharp wit by the actress forever known as Princess Leia of “Star Wars.” Fisher admitted the problem early in the evening: Six months after canceling a 4301 staging of her first autobiographical stage play, the generally well-received “Wishful Drinking,” local producers were unable to get the set pieces and rights to that show. So what we were now getting was “Wishful”-lite: On a simple set with rug, chair and end table, Fisher dishes some of the same scripted anecdotes (prompted on an electronic display behind the crowd), along with a “Wishful” gimmick of reading “Star Wars” dialogue with an audience member in matching cinnamon-bun wigs, plus gobs of time-filling Q&A with folks in the 326-seat theater. Unfortunately, lacking much of a narrative guide, it’s best if audiences bone up on Fisher’s bio before showing up. She’s the daughter of Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher, former wife to folkie Paul Simon, a bipolar recovering drug addict who spent time in a mental hospital. Her second husband left her for a man. And then there’s the incident in 2005, when her dear friend, gay Republican Party operative R. Gregory Stevens, was found dead in Fisher’s bed. (That kind of thing, Fisher says, “tends to throw the host or hostess off her game a little bit.”) She plumbs that story early on, and in dark detail. It all adds up to what Fisher regards as “good anecdote, bad reality,” and the gist of “Spy in the House of Me” (as with “Wishful Drinking”) is the actress sharpening her urbane wit against a turbulent life; what we’re missing in the new show is a satisfying sense of context. Question-and-answer sessions can be notoriously iffy, but Fisher shines when prodded to discuss her past relationships. Opening night, she offered intimate dirt on Simon (“He’s a jealous person”) and onetime fiance Dan Aykroyd (“We got blood tests and everything!” Fisher says, adding, “He’s a good kisser”). The audience lapped it up. Is it worth the $50-plus ticket price? Depends on either the appeal of an under-structured evening with a dishy, funny Hollywood icon or, frankly, your “Star Wars” nerdiness. Some of us Tuesday night were glad we TiVo’d “American Idol.” THEATER REVIEW — 'Spy in the House of Me’ What: Carrie Fisher’s one-woman show When: 7:30 p.m. today; 8 p.m. Friday; 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Sunday Where: Theater 4301, 4301 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale Cost: $52-$56 Information: (480) 994-2787 or www.scottsdaleperformingarts.org Grade: C- Contact Chris Page by email, or phone (480) 898-5656 |
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