Mike Birbiglia's The New One comes to Broadway!
Mike Birbiglia has a new one. It's called The New One. 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 on Broadway telling a new story in a new way with the same heart and humor we've come to expect. Lin-Manuel Miranda called The New One "as perfect a night as you're gonna get." Do not miss The New One. Some people say it's his best one. (It was John Mulaney. Also, Vogue.)
On Broadway for 12 weeks (99 performances!) only.
Similarly to his previous work (such as 'Sleepwalk With Me') Birbiglia relies upon a well-honed 'nice guy' persona. In doing so, he comes off as heartfelt and relatable - not so different from any given audience member who is figuring out life as it goes along. There is an appealing smoothness and simplicity to his shows, which tend to be autobiographical in nature. Birbiglia excels at offering fun anecdotes, dramatizing conversations with offstage characters, making Seinfeld-style observations about daily life and performing occasional physical bits.
Under Seth Barrish's direction, THE NEW ONE keeps a steady, casual tone consistent with Birbiglia's genial, nice-guy persona. The 80-minute piece is very funny on a sweet, realistic level. The only moment of shear theatricality, a really good one, comes from set designer Beowulf Boritt. I'll leave it to the storytellers to present you with that one.
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