Mike Birbiglia's THE OLD MAN & THE POOL To Open On Broadway, November 13

The new solo play Mike Birbiglia: The Old Man & the Pool will open on Broadway this fall at the esteemed Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center.

Written and performed by Screen Actors Guild, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and Lortel Award winner Mike Birbiglia, the play is directed by Seth Barrish (The New One), with contributions by Peabody Award-winning Story Consultant Ira Glass (This American Life). The Old Man & the Pool begins previews on Friday, October 28, 2022, with an official Opening Night of Sunday, November 13.

The limited engagement will play 70 performances only, through Friday, December 30. Tickets to Mike Birbiglia: The Old Man & the Pool are on sale now at Telecharge.

Birbiglia announced the news today during a guest appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon." Fallon exclaimed, "Mike Birbiglia returns to Broadway! Such big news from one of my favorite comedians...I'm so proud of you! I don't want to give anything away for audiences, but there are so many great lines in [this show], I was texting Mike afterward-probably to the point he wanted to delete my number-because I couldn't decide which line was my favorite."

One of the greatest comedic storytellers, at the top of his game. On the heels of his award-winning show The New One, Mike Birbiglia returns to Broadway with a coming-of-middle-age story about when life takes a dive - into a highly-chlorinated YMCA pool.

"In my 22 years of performing comedy, and five solo shows, The Old Man & the Pool has given me the most rewarding experience I've ever felt with audiences," says Mike Birbiglia. "This is a show I'm very proud of, and I can't believe I get to perform it at Lincoln Center Theater - after auditioning for the Philharmonic, the Opera, and the New York City ballet, I thought I'd never get the chance. But here I am. Sometimes you get lucky!"

Birbiglia continues, "It's always been a cliché that audiences need to laugh but- honestly- after all we've been through in the last few years, people really do need to laugh. And sometimes, laughing about the darkest topics can be the most cathartic. I hope you join me. You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll call your parents. You'll write your will."

Mike Birbiglia: The Old Man and the Pool was Originally Produced by Center Theatre Group and played to sold-out houses in its world premiere at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, CA in 2022, following a sold-out developmental run at Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago. Entertainment Weekly raved, "The artful storyteller Mike Birbiglia is excellent at his craft, and in The Old Man & the Pool, the comedian is at the top of his game. I felt connected to him. Hilarious observations unfold into tales that are charming and gripping. You never feel like he's performing a bit, but rather like you're throwing back a beer with your funniest friend." Variety wrote, "The core of Mike Birbiglia's charm is... he's favorite-pair-of-jeans comfortable, and remarkably skilled at finding profundity in subjects well within arm's reach. The Old Man & the Pool feels like catching up with an old friend - you never want him to shut up."

Marking Birbiglia's fifth solo play collaboration with director Seth Barrish, the play's creative team also includes Tony Award-winning Scenic Designer Beowulf Boritt (Act One, POTUS), four-time Tony Award Nominated Costume Designer Toni-Leslie James (Paradise Square, The Piano Lesson), Lighting Designer Aaron Copp (The New One, Falling Out of Time), Tony Award-winning Sound Designer Kai Harada (The Band's Visit, Kimberly Akimbo), and Projection Designer Hana S. Kim (The Visitor, Eve's Song).

Tickets to Mike Birbiglia: The Old Man & the Pool are on sale now at Telecharge.com/212-239-6200, and at the Lincoln Center Theater Box Office (150 W 65th Street, NYC). The regular performance schedule is: Tuesdays-Fridays at 7:30pm, Saturdays at 4pm & 8pm, and Sundays at 5PM. During previews (prior to November 13) the playing schedule is: Tuesdays-Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 4pm & 8pm, and Sundays at 3pm & 7:30pm. Holiday week showtimes may vary - check Telecharge.com or www.MikeBirbigliaBroadway.com for the full schedule.

Mike Birbiglia: The Old Man & the Pool is produced on Broadway by Sue Wagner, John Johnson, Patrick Catullo, Seaview, and Center Theatre Group.

Mike Birbiglia is a comedian, storyteller, director, actor and New York Times best-selling author, who has performed in front of audiences worldwide, from the Sydney Opera House to Carnegie Hall. He has written and performed a series of award-winning solo plays, including Sleepwalk with Me, My Girlfriend's Boyfriend and Thank God for Jokes - all of which earned Lortel Award nominations for Best Solo Show, with My Girlfriend's Boyfriend winning the 2011 Award. His last Broadway show, The New One, won the Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Solo Performance. Following their acclaimed runs on & off Broadway, The New One, My Girlfriend's Boyfriend, and Thank God for Jokes, were all filmed for Netflix. In addition to performing live, Birbiglia is an author and filmmaker who wrote, directed and starred in the acclaimed feature films Sleepwalk with Me and Don't Think Twice. His book, Sleepwalk with Me and Other Painfully True Stories was a New York Times Bestseller and a finalist for the Thurber Prize for American Humor. In 2017, Birbiglia was honored with the Kurt Vonnegut Award for humor. As an actor, Birbiglia's credits include Danny Pearson on "Orange is the New Black," Oscar Langstraat on Showtime's "Billions," HBO's "Girls" and "Broad City", and "Inside Amy Schumer," as well as in the films Trainwreck, The Fault in Our Stars, Popstar, and the forthcoming Marc Foster film A Man Called Otto starring Tom Hanks. He is a contributor to "This American Life" on public radio, is host of the podcast Mike Birbiglia's Working It Out, and recently stepped in as guest host of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" on ABC when Kimmel was out with Covid-19.

Seth Barrish is co-artistic director of The Barrow Group. For Birbiglia's Netflix presentations, Barrish was the director of The New One" and Mike Birbiglia: My Girlfriend's Boyfriend, as well as co-director of Thank God for Jokes. Barrish's theatre directing credits include Thank God for Jokes (Lortel nomination), All the Rage (Lortel Award, Outer Critics Circle nomination), My Girlfriend's Boyfriend (Lortel Award, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations - final performance at Carnegie Hall), Sleepwalk with Me (Nightlife Award), The Tricky Part (Obie Award, two Drama Desk nominations), Pentecost (Drama Desk nomination), Old Wicked Songs (L.A. Drama Critics Circle Award, Garland Award), Good (Straw Hat Award) and many more. Barrish is co-director and co-screenplay writer for Sleepwalk with Me. As a playwright, he is co-adaptor of Enemy of the People (an adaptation of Ibsen's play). Barrish is consulting producer for Don't Think Twice.