watched her say this over and over again until the idea finally wore me down and I thought, all right, for ten dollars it's not a bad deal. Oddly enough, she sold me the program without doing the schpiel. I think maybe my eye contact indicated a bizarre mix of dread and excitement over hearing it again. Finally, the moment I'd been way worked up for: after her pianist and drummer played an opening medley, and a chorus of young cute gay male singers came out and did some kind of Vegas pop song choral thing, the Debster strolled out onto the stage.

The impact was fascinating: even though she's from another era, it's quite clear why she's a star. In her presence, one felt instant charisma, professionalism and showmanship. She wore a red sparkly dress with a slit up the leg (playing very much to Shirley MacLaine's portrayal of her in Postcards), her hair was coiffed, her makeup perfect.

"Forget your troubles, c'mon get happy," she sang, doing a little two-step. I died. Again, it was Carrie Fisher's mom in Postcards getting up on the piano and kicking her heels. After that number and the applause, she started to talk-- chirpy, fast, funny. She spoke so quickly, so animatedly that it made me wonder: did Deb do a few lines before coming out on stage?

Aside from her pure star quality, had excellent stage patter. "I've got this dress, slit up to the leg to show it off," she said. "That's because everything else is shot." She played to the kids in the audience: " I'm sure your parents brought you here and you have no idea who I am. Well, you've see Star Wars, right? I'm Princess Leia's mother."