Richard Lewis Brings a Brand New Cloud

Richard Lewis, a comedian whose view of life is about as sunny as an eclipse, hasn’t been on the road since his “Magical Misery Tour” in 1996.

Things obviously haven’t improved much for the walking bundle of neuroses and insecurities: As the title of his current tour indicates, he’s still a “Wreck in Progress.”

The “wreck” pulls into the Irvine Improv on Wednesday for five nights of onstage therapy, and, at 52, comedy’s man in black finds himself in the throes of a midlife crisis.

“It’s impossible [not to],” Lewis said. “I went to school in the late ‘60s, so I have that mentality: I’m sort of a rock ‘n’ roller. I, fortunately, left those wild and crazy times behind me, but I still think and feel that way, and I feel young.

“The midlife crisis has to come with not sharing your life with an immediate family and the fear that you may never--and it’s nerve-racking. You can have great friends, but if you don’t have that 20-year-old son [saying], ‘How you doing, Pop?’ it’s a drag.”

Adds the never-married Lewis: “There are a lot of people in my position. I try to make light of it. If I didn’t, I would implode. It’s cathartic when an audience laughs. I went on stage to be validated for my anxieties so I wouldn’t actually feel like an alien.”

Lewis was speaking by telephone from his hotel room in New York City, where he was appearing at Caroline’s Comedy Club. But you can almost see him nervously running his fingers through his hair and pacing the room.

The veteran comedian has been off the road the past several years, doing film, TV and writing. Over the last year, he has worked on a collection of autobiographical essays, “The Other Great Depression,” which is due out from Perseus Books next fall.

“The year I’ve been writing has sort of transformed my stand-up to--not to sound grandiose--the kind of intensity I always craved having, sort of the [Lenny] Bruce and [Richard] Pryor intensity,” Lewis said. “Even though I’ve been as honest as I could be as a stand-up, the book has forced me to . . . get the subtext out of my one-liners.”

As a comedian, he said, “I try to talk about myself and, fortunately, a lot of people have the same perplexities, confusions and conflicts that I have.”

Lewis, a man who has therapists on both coasts, said his act is constantly changing.

“I had a little nervous rash from going on last night,” he said. “I must have spent 15 minutes talking about it. That’s what I do; I always just do a stream-of-consciousness kind of act.”

People who know him and have followed his career “have grown to appreciate that they’re going to really know how I’m feeling that night and what’s been going on with me the last few months,” he said. “Those who don’t know me well will just have to acquire a taste really rapidly.”

Lewis said his midlife crisis is only part of his act, which has grown more political and satirical.

“It’s more [about] the world situation. Let’s face it, we’re approaching 2000. There is more about 2000 than just my fear of intimacy.”

Lewis began the current tour six months ago, but he hasn’t been on the road the whole time. A resident of Los Angeles since 1977, he returns periodically to his home in the hills of Hollywood.

“I have to. After 24 days, I’ll get a complete body rash if I’m not sleeping in my own bed.”

* Richard Lewis performs at the Irvine Improv, 4255 Campus Drive. Wednesday at 8:30 p.m.; Thursday at 8:30 p.m.; Friday at 8:30 and 10:30 p.m.; Saturday at 8 and 10:30 p.m.; and Sunday at 8 p.m. Tickets: $15 Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday; $17 on Friday and Saturday. (949) 854-5455.