Nowhere will you find an entertainer so committed to his craft as comedian Richard Lewis.
The 30-year stand-up comedy veteran always brings the same “woe is me“ shtick, the same outstretched hand begging the audience to rescue him from his relentless self-deprecation and always—always—the same head-to-toe black wardrobe (although his head has given up and gone semi-gray).
His audiences, like him, are mainly older and more crotchety than most, but they’re also longtime fans who appreciate the classic comedy style that Lewis has perfected. They can laugh constantly for an hour and watch as Lewis fires off story after story (all of them negative), working himself into a frenzy about the horror that is his existence, leaving a room full of aching sides in his wake. His ability to keep people laughing at his self-loathing and dark views on every aspect of his life are what keep him one of the greatest comedians of all time.
At first it may seem like Lewis is exaggerating his personality to get a laugh, but it doesn’t take much to realize that this “act” is the way he behaves every second of every day. Though he talks about going to psychiatrists his whole life, the connection with the audience is his true therapy. Now free from years of drug and alcohol addiction, Lewis is sharper than ever. Unfortunately for him, that self-awareness has only served to make his jokes about himself that much darker. When he says, “People leave my act happy that they’re not me,” he means it.
Richard Lewis @ Wiseguys Comedy Cafe, 2194 W. 3500 South, West Valley, 801- 463-2909, May 14-15, 7:30 & 10 p.m., $25. WiseguysComedy.com
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