By the early 1980s, Lewis was gathering career momentum and technical polish as a stand-up comedian. A 1984 appearance at Zanies on Wells Street prompted me to write in my review: “The material pours out of him confessional-style, and not a word sounds rehearsed or manipulated for laughs. Yet the laughs are there – and in unbelievable abundance – because Lewis’ material rings of high craft and because the scenarios he laments go much deeper emotionally than one expects from one-liners. … He can communicate more with twisted body language than most comics can with words. He is the rare kind of comedian who broadens the art.”