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.
Of course these themes are all interconnected, but they are also abstract. There isn't much attempt to tie them all together narratively. Instead Birbiglia will throw out a huge question around mortality, then quickly pivot to an anecdote or a silly bit. When the bits are this funny, it's hard to complain too much. An extended routine around chlorine in YMCA pools builds beautifully to a gag about the mob using them to dispose of bodies; Birbiglia's continued insistence that no-one in the world possibly exercises five days a week gets funnier each time. But when we circle back around to Birbiglia announcing that he beat his diabetes, it's jarringly out of nowhere, like we just skipped a whole chapter of the story.
A spry and seemingly healthy 44-year old, Birbiglia confesses to a history of serious health issues. Thus we have a rumination on severe obstacles which ought not be funny but, in the author's telling, are positively side-splitting. Along the way he meanders off into myriad tangents-wrestling, chlorine, chicken parmigiana-which provoke torrents of laughter while always circling back to the matter at hand. All the while he reveals himself to be a first-class stage clown with mastery of both verbal and physical arts.
2022 | Broadway |
Broadway Production Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2023 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Solo Performance | Mike Birbiglia |
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