Steven Wright's wry delivery emerged from fear of being onstage without hearing laughter.
Wright, appearing Saturday at John Ascuaga's Nugget, relies on quick observations like "It's a small world, but I wouldn't want to paint it." Or, "A friend of mine has a trophy wife, but apparently it wasn't first place."
Wright has what is nearly impossible in today's comedy business – a memorable personality and slant. He doesn't rant like Richard Lewis, isn't full of rage like Lewis Black. Wright lets material sink in. But he won't wait long. He likes to move on.
"When I was growing up, there was a radio show in Boston which played two comedy albums every Sunday. I listened to it every week and was studying comedy without knowing it."
Wright avoids three things.
The first is too much topicality: "I talk about everyday life and things people don't usually talk about. Current events don't date well."
The second is rage, which "I don't feel – comedy-wise."
The third is getting too dark.
That topic arises because of his Comedy Central special, "When the Leaves Blow Away." It got good reviews and helped increase his niche audience. But few noticed there was no material that had anything to do with the title.
"The title made sense when we put together the special. I had this joke where I said, 'And now the next song is called 'We'll Find Her When the Leaves Blow Away, Because I'm Not Raking Until Spring.' The more I thought about it the more I realized it was a violent joke, so I took it out. But I liked the title," he said.
Wright has managed to establish himself as a performer without an onslaught of recordings or specials. He's had only two CDs, the 1995 "I Have a Pony," and its follow-up 12 years later, "I Still Have a Pony." Both were nominated for best comedy Grammy. CDs don't seem to be his preferred form of delivery, though; he has said in the past that he has a CD burner, only he calls it a fireplace.
He is a late-night regular. He's done stand-up specials for HBO. He plays multiple venues around the world. He has appeared in movies. In 1989, he became an Academy Award winner for co-writing and directing the Best Short Film, "The Appointments of Dennis Jennings." In 1999, he wrote, directed, and starred in another short movie, "One Soldier," about a man obsessed with the unanswerable aspects of life – the sort of material that elsewhere Wright turns into comedy.
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