Since she's calling the tune, why not sing a few?

"It was in the paper when I went into a mental hospital, which is part of the reason I 'came out,' " says Fisher, who has made something of a second career out of lecturing about her fight with bipolar depression. "I was in rehab twice -- once because of what they put into my system at the mental hospital, and once because of what I put into my system myself." Alcohol was never her substance of choice: "I was a wishful drinker in the sense that I wished drinking worked for me," she says.

The show, she says, "is me controlling the information. It's like walking into a room and before someone can say: 'You're fat,' you say: 'OK, I've put on 10 pounds.' "

Continuing, with appropriately placed expletives, Fisher says: "I'll always be known as ... Princess Leia. OK. Whatever. I don't ever escape ... Hollywood. I could go to ... Saudi Arabia and it's going to be there because \o7I'm\f7 there."

And it's all good with Fisher -- as long as it's funny. "If my life wasn't funny, it would just be true, and that's unacceptable. My brain looks at things funny.

"For a long time, I've known people who have taken all the charm and romance out of self-pity," she adds. "That is of no interest to me."

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diane.haithman@latimes .com

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'Wishful Drinking'

Where: Geffen Playhouse, 10886 Le Conte Ave., Westwood

When: Opens Wednesday. 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays, 4 and 8:30 p.m. Saturdays, 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays

Ends: Dec. 23

Price: $35 to $69

Contact: (310) 208-5454