Comedian Mike Birbiglia Performs at PlayhouseSquare, 4/29

By: Apr. 12, 2012
Enter Your Email to Unlock This Article

Plus, get the best of BroadwayWorld delivered to your inbox, and unlimited access to our editorial content across the globe.




Existing user? Just click login.

This time last year, Mike Birbiglia was a well-respected comedian, author and playwright, thanks to his popular stand-up comedy concerts, his regular guest spots on public radio's This American Life, comedy CDs and his bestselling book, Sleepwalk With Me and Other Painfully True Stories (which he also turned into a long-running stage show). Fast forward to February 2012, and now Birbiglia has become an even bigger, more respected super-hyphenate as filmmaker, co-writer (along with Ira Glass), actor and director in his movie version of Sleepwalk With Me…which just won an award at the Sundance Film Festival.

Yet with this recent film success, Mike hasn't yet eschewed on the-road-comedy concerts for a full-time gig in Tinsel Town. Sunday, April 29th Cleveland audiences will welcome Mike for his first-ever PlayhouseSquare appearance at the Ohio Theater at 7 pm, performing his new show "My Girlfriend's Boyfriend Comedy Tour."

Mike's comedy runs the gamut from his marital state to comic observations and self-deprecating humor like: "I decided to go to a club the other night because my self-esteem was ranking about normal, and I REALLY wanted to get it down to the 1000 negative level!"

He took his first step onto the comedy road as a freshman at Georgetown University, and by his sophomore year had won "The Funniest Man on Campus" contest. After graduation he took his act to New York City, began appearing in clubs, on Comedy Central's "Premium Blend" and was chosen to perform at the prestigious annual Montreal Just For Laughs Comedy Festival. The booker for the David Letterman show liked what he saw at the Festival, and soon Mike became one of the youngest comedians to ever perform on the Letterman show.

Mike is now a regular on the late-night talk show circuit and headlines clubs and festivals countrywide. But what has really galvanized his fans is his bi-weekly blog, "My Secret Public Journal", where he posts travelogues of his awkward adventures on the road.

Tickets for Mike Birbiglia at PlayhouseSquare's Ohio Theatre, April 29 at 7 pm are $35, $30 and $10 Smart Seats.

playhousesquare.org



Videos