So I always get Carrie Fisher (Star Wars) and Margot Kidder (Superman) confused for some reason. Not that they really look alike but they are both babes from movies in my early childhood so perhaps I’ve just got some memory issues.

Apparently, so does Carrie Fisher.

She starts her one woman show, Wishful Drinking, by mentioning that she just completed some sessions of ECT in July. ECT doesn’t have anything to do with Star Wars, its short for Electroconvulsive therapy. So, needless to say, she has had some issues.

Of course the very next thing out of her mouth is to make sure everyone knows that she once woke up next to a dead man, gay Republican Party operative R. Gregory Stevens. The close friend was found dead in her bed in 2005, while Fisher was recovering herself from some serious depression. That didn’t help.

And yet, these two interesting tidbits are pretty much nothing compared to what she divulges in the rest of the two-plus hour show at the Lincoln Theater in D.C.

Starting back at the beginning — her birth, Fisher goes on to paint one heck of a picture of her life, from growing up in a somewhat incestuous Hollywood family lifestyle, to her marriage to Paul Simon, plus a CAA executive who later said he was gay (he did give Fisher a child) and so on. Between her parents, their exes, their exes exes and such, I think she must have mentioned 298.3 divorces. And several re-marriages and re-divorces.

If it were not true, it might not be funny. But to a packed house, Fisher proved she is a lot more than just Princess Leia. Although she was proud to display a life-sized sex doll in her likeness plus a Pez Dispenser.

Best known for that Star Wars role (and hot little bikini with the big Squid thing), she’s probably marking her success now on having survived and continuing to battle drugs, depression, being bipolar, several stints in rehab and in mental institutions. And marking it well, with a packed house and standing ovation on what was quite a compelling story. It certainly makes our own daily issues seem a lot less wacky.

Dining in D.C.

Also worth mentioning was a pre-show meal at Vinoteca DC, a Wine Bar and Bistro on 11th Street near U Street. There was no menu on the outside, so going in had no idea what the place was about other than it had some Zagat stickers on the window.

Among the highlights in this ‘kinda Tapas’ place (best description I can come up with) was the White Tie Pasta, Duck Confit and some cheese plate called ‘Tome de Recolletes’ which was essentially just one slice of cheese with some herb coating and honey dip. Slim pickings on that last part, but tasty nonetheless. The shrimp was also deeee-lish.