Review: Jeff Hiller Living His Best Life In MIDDLE AGED INGENUE at Joe's Pub

After 25 years of improv, Jeff Hiller is finally writing it down. The opening night crowd for his new solo show, “Middle Aged Ingenue,” was electric. It’s easy to see what drew people out to this mostly sold-out run at Joe’s Pub. Hiller has an unassuming, almost boyish charm, and an earnest belief in the world that’s refreshing in today’s world of nihilism.

One major theme of the show revolves around Hiller’s relationship with his faith (he was raised devoutly Christian). A gifted improviser, Hiller responded deftly to interaction from the crowd. At one point, someone called out “preach” in approval of Hiller’s coming out story. “Wait, save it until I get to the Jesus bit,” Hiller quipped back. “Oh wait, I’m already in the Jesus bit. Yes, preach!” Although he’s relatively new to performing his own scripted material, he did the show with such a practiced ease, it felt so much like it was delivered off the cuff that it was shocking, in the one moment when he got so distracted by riffing on the crowd that he had to look at his notes to get to the next part. However, he did even that so gracefully, I’m sure nobody minded.

Another theme was Hiller’s newfound status as the star of an HBO show. “Have any of you heard of Somebody, Somewhere?” Hiller asked the crowd at one point. They responded with uproarious applause. He was surprised at the enthusiasm, although he copped that he should have known they’d heard of it because “most of you are probably here because of it.”

Hiller joked about the trouble people have remembering the title. One guy pointed at him on the street and said, “Nobody, nowhere.” He wasn’t sure if the guy couldn’t remember the name of the show or if he was “just voicing my inner monologue.”

I won’t get too much into the specifics of the show’s content, lest I spoil it for anyone who hasn’t seen it yet (and if you don’t have tickets already, you’d better snag one of the few left for August 10th, before that one sells out too). The show is nearly equal parts humor and pathos, both deeply personal and very timely (he touches on global warming, the WGA strike and the pandemic) and inspiring. Hiller broke up a little, delivering the show’s final message: after years of believing in Jesus, he’s learned that the greatest faith of all to have is faith in yourself. At 45 years young, Hiller’s finally landed the breakout role that changed everything for him, and if he can do it, so can you. As Hiller put it (and I am paraphrasing), are benefits really worth giving up on your dreams?

Tickets to Jeff Hiller: Middle Aged Ingenue are available HERE.

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