March 21–28, 2002

critic pick

Richard Lewis

The inimitable "Prince of Pain" will grace and pace the stage of the Dennis Flyer Memorial Theater in Blackwood, N.J., this week for a manic session of his legendary stand-up Rorschach tests; the show is guaranteed to be yet another excruciatingly hysterical performance. Calling on a pay phone from Los Angeles, Lewis, author of the provocative memoir The Other Great Depression , says he’s looking forward to revisiting his home state; although born in Brooklyn, his folks raised — or, to use his words, "observed" — him in Englewood. Combining the jittery, open-sore psyche of Woody Allen with the hipster stance of Lenny Bruce, Lewis has established a reputation over the past three decades as a distinctive rock ’n’ roll hybrid of these predecessors. Indeed, he is the Jimi Hendrix of monologists, whose virtuoso free-form riffs on ex-girlfriends, family and other antagonistic denizens from hell are delivered in a mesmerizing, stream-of-consciousness frenzy, a piss-yourself-laughing assault on the senses. Not only is he one of the undisputed masters of postmodern comedy, but also to incurable, self-loathing neurotics he is a patron saint who deserves to be canonized.

Part of Camden County Board of Freeholders After Sundown concert series, Thu., Mar. 21, 8 p.m., $15, Dennis Flyer Memorial Theater, Camden County College, Blackwood, N.J., 856-338-9000 or 215-336-2000, www.ccparks.com.