He’s made you laugh in Sleepwalk With Me (it was a play presented by Nathan Lane, then a movie, THEN a book), My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend, and Thank God for Jokes. (He was also really funny in that one season of Orange Is the New Black. And in Billions. And Broad City.) Now he’s at the Ahmanson telling a new story in a new way with the same heart and humor we’ve come to expect.
THE NEW ONE
Reviews
While the show is funny, it's never transcendently so. While it has sweet moments, it's not deeply emotional. And that final redemptive turn? You might find yourself questioning it later - just like that pint of ice cream at 3am.
Booking Mike Birbiglia's solo comedy performance into the Ahmanson may indeed be a gamble for the CTG, but then, isn’t creating and championing all art a gamble? Birbiglia’s comedy is all his own and as such, this risky choice emerges as highly unique and refreshingly entertaining, making us all feel a tad embarrassed to be laughing at his poor-me modernday Little Tramp persona—that is until one considers there’s a strong possibility we might just be watching the beginning stages of a sizable career in the fickle world of comedy that could a perfect fit for CTG-sized ambitions.
In all, THE NEW ONE is pleasant and humorous as it describes the pitfalls of the journey from carefree bachelor to parent. At the same time, the piece may be more appropriate for Netflix (one of Birbiglia’s planned stops), or perhaps a smaller venue than the huge Ahmanson. Intimacy on such a grand scale may lose some of what Birbiglia seems to be striving for. At the same time, bursts of laughter often filled the theater – suggesting that Birbiglia’s fans really understand where he is coming from and find him a highly entertaining comic.
This evening is for those who enjoy laughing about the human condition without the cynicism or bitterness brought to the forefront by the stand-up comedian in the White House. Birbiglia is the real deal and seeing him in person is essential to getting the full effect of his comic brilliance. He appeals to the audience’s imagination, intelligence and emotional core. All the critical superlatives he’s received turn out to be well-deserved. - RECOMMENDED
The delivery here is perfectly wholesome, commercially safe comedy. It’s cautious in its confessions: asking scary questions but bubble-wrapping the answers. It neither challenges nor entertains too much. It doesn’t allow the relentlessness of parenting to overshadow its beauty. It’s as satisfying and forgettable as vanilla ice cream. An evening that evokes smiles even as it short-changes. It’s audacious in its premise but hesitant in its follow-through. The New One is ultimately a risk untaken.
Yes, it is strange to head to the Ahmanson for a solo show.
But like a big Broadway musical would, Birbiglia fills the Ahmanson stage, using his warmth and honesty. He’s like the couch he talks about anthropomorphically: hugging us, soothing us, drawing us in for the duration.
Let’s call the experience relaxed. There’s no great pressure to laugh. The show is 85 minutes or so of comedy foreplay. His delivery delays punchlines only to heighten the strangeness of the humorous payoff...
Not that you’d hold it against Birbiglia, who’s so agreeable that you’re happy to hear more about his new couch or latest health scare. A surrogate pal while onstage, he’s always admirably himself. And like those friends who stay in our good graces, he knows just when to leave.
Comedian, writer and performer Mike Birbiglia bares his soul about his relationship with his couch, wife and daughter as he takes the stage at the Ahmanson Theatre. Direct from Broadway, Birbiglia with additional writing by Jennifer Hope Stein, and directed by Seth Barrish (“Sleepwalk with Me”) begins by declaring his fondness of a couch he discovers that was left on a street years ago. The story evolves on how this piece of furniture offers comfort for sitting, sleeping, watching television, eating meals and finally cradling “The NEW ONE” a baby.
In one uproarious moment, be prepared to watch as more baby items than you could possibly imagine drop onto to the stage from above, a physical representation of the inundation Birbiglia experienced as the baby took over his quiet, at-home life. His comical impressions of many of those items left the audience howling with laughter, no doubt bringing up memories from their own lives when THE NEW ONE arrived and took over every inch of the place and brought a relentless invasion of unexpected joy and terror, all shared in a remarkably fast-paced 90 minutes!
As fans of Big Broadway Musicals await The Book Of Mormon’s Ahmanson debut in February (with Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake and Sting starring in The Last Ship arriving between now and then), The New One’s five-week visit reminds L.A. theatergoers that size doesn’t always matter. The New One is A Special One indeed.
While the show is funny, it's never transcendently so. While it has sweet moments, it's not deeply emotional. And that final redemptive turn? You might find yourself questioning it later - just like that pint of ice cream at 3am.
Booking Mike Birbiglia's solo comedy performance into the Ahmanson may indeed be a gamble for the CTG, but then, isn’t creating and championing all art a gamble? Birbiglia’s comedy is all his own and as such, this risky choice emerges as highly unique and refreshingly entertaining, making us all feel a tad embarrassed to be laughing at his poor-me modernday Little Tramp persona—that is until one considers there’s a strong possibility we might just be watching the beginning stages of a sizable career in the fickle world of comedy that could a perfect fit for CTG-sized ambitions.
In all, THE NEW ONE is pleasant and humorous as it describes the pitfalls of the journey from carefree bachelor to parent. At the same time, the piece may be more appropriate for Netflix (one of Birbiglia’s planned stops), or perhaps a smaller venue than the huge Ahmanson. Intimacy on such a grand scale may lose some of what Birbiglia seems to be striving for. At the same time, bursts of laughter often filled the theater – suggesting that Birbiglia’s fans really understand where he is coming from and find him a highly entertaining comic.
This evening is for those who enjoy laughing about the human condition without the cynicism or bitterness brought to the forefront by the stand-up comedian in the White House. Birbiglia is the real deal and seeing him in person is essential to getting the full effect of his comic brilliance. He appeals to the audience’s imagination, intelligence and emotional core. All the critical superlatives he’s received turn out to be well-deserved. - RECOMMENDED
The delivery here is perfectly wholesome, commercially safe comedy. It’s cautious in its confessions: asking scary questions but bubble-wrapping the answers. It neither challenges nor entertains too much. It doesn’t allow the relentlessness of parenting to overshadow its beauty. It’s as satisfying and forgettable as vanilla ice cream. An evening that evokes smiles even as it short-changes. It’s audacious in its premise but hesitant in its follow-through. The New One is ultimately a risk untaken.
Yes, it is strange to head to the Ahmanson for a solo show.
But like a big Broadway musical would, Birbiglia fills the Ahmanson stage, using his warmth and honesty. He’s like the couch he talks about anthropomorphically: hugging us, soothing us, drawing us in for the duration.
Let’s call the experience relaxed. There’s no great pressure to laugh. The show is 85 minutes or so of comedy foreplay. His delivery delays punchlines only to heighten the strangeness of the humorous payoff...
Not that you’d hold it against Birbiglia, who’s so agreeable that you’re happy to hear more about his new couch or latest health scare. A surrogate pal while onstage, he’s always admirably himself. And like those friends who stay in our good graces, he knows just when to leave.
Comedian, writer and performer Mike Birbiglia bares his soul about his relationship with his couch, wife and daughter as he takes the stage at the Ahmanson Theatre. Direct from Broadway, Birbiglia with additional writing by Jennifer Hope Stein, and directed by Seth Barrish (“Sleepwalk with Me”) begins by declaring his fondness of a couch he discovers that was left on a street years ago. The story evolves on how this piece of furniture offers comfort for sitting, sleeping, watching television, eating meals and finally cradling “The NEW ONE” a baby.
In one uproarious moment, be prepared to watch as more baby items than you could possibly imagine drop onto to the stage from above, a physical representation of the inundation Birbiglia experienced as the baby took over his quiet, at-home life. His comical impressions of many of those items left the audience howling with laughter, no doubt bringing up memories from their own lives when THE NEW ONE arrived and took over every inch of the place and brought a relentless invasion of unexpected joy and terror, all shared in a remarkably fast-paced 90 minutes!
As fans of Big Broadway Musicals await The Book Of Mormon’s Ahmanson debut in February (with Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake and Sting starring in The Last Ship arriving between now and then), The New One’s five-week visit reminds L.A. theatergoers that size doesn’t always matter. The New One is A Special One indeed.