Award-winning comedian and storyteller Mike Birbiglia returns to Broadway this fall with a tale of life, death, and a highly chlorinated YMCA pool. Birbiglia takes the stage at the esteemed Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center to chronicle his coming-of-middle-age story that asks the big questions: Why are we here? What’s next? What happens when the items at the doctor’s office that you thought were decorative become functional?
The Old Man and the Pool, which played to sold-out houses in Berkeley, Chicago and Los Angeles, resonates with audiences ages 12 to 112. It’s a hilarious reminder for all of us recovering from failing bodies and a flailing world that laughter is indeed the best medicine.
Get tickets now, and remember: Mike’s here for a good time, not a long time. This strictly limited Broadway engagement ends December 30.
There is an appealing smoothness, simplicity, and sense of construction to Birbiglia's shows. (Seth Barrish, who serves as Birbiglia's regular director, surely deserves much credit.) Birbiglia excels at offering fun anecdotes, dramatizing conversations with offstage characters, making Seinfeld-style observations about daily life and performing occasional physical bits.
If you've never seen Birbiglia, you'll quickly realize that his comedy is pointed but never cruel; though he mentions his wife, Jenny, and daughter, Oona, frequently, his prime target is himself; his pacing is near-perfect (only one bit, right at the end, runs out of steam); and a left-hook packed with emotion and sincerity often comes when you least expect it. 'I feel like we don't choose what we remember about our own lives,' he says about seeing his father, hospitalized, after an emergency angioplasty, 'but what I remember the most about that day is that it was the first time I saw my dad as a person.'
2022 | Broadway |
Broadway Production Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2023 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Solo Performance | Mike Birbiglia |
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