Theatre News Wire

On the heels of his award-winning Broadway show, The New One, comedian and storyteller Mike Birbiglia comes to the Steppenwolf stage with a tale of life, death, and a highly chlorinated YMCA pool. With his unique form of comedic storytelling, Birbiglia's The Old Man and the Pool chronicles a coming-of-middle-age story that asks the big questions: Why are we here? What's next? And what happens when the items at the doctor's office that you thought were decorative become quite useful?

"I've been performing in Chicago since the early 2000s and feel so close to the people of the city. It's a theater-loving and improv-loving and comedy-loving town and I always feel at home when I'm there, especially when I stay at people's homes and politely ask them to leave. Joking aside, the idea of performing my own solo show at Steppenwolf literally feels like a dream. Between Sam Shepard's True West and Steve Martin's Picasso at the Lapin Agile it's got a lineage that is second to none," shares Mike Birbiglia.

"What can Chicagoans expect? Well, my last show was called The New One and my director Seth Barrish and I constructed it to be a hybrid of comedy and emotionality in a single evening of theatre. The Old Man and The Pool has the exact same goal. We want you to laugh. We want you to feel. We try to delve into some big themes: life, death, and mortality. But with jokes. And stories. A lot of them. I've been writing this show for three years and developing it on my Working It Out podcast with guests like Ira Glass and Tig Notaro and others, and Chicago will be one of the first places where people first get to see it formed as a single evening of theatre. I'm thrilled to bring it to Chicago. Selfishly, I can't wait to spend four weeks in a city where I always want to stay longer. So thanks for having me. You can see me perform at Steppenwolf or you can also see me eating hot dogs at Wrigley Field," adds Birbiglia.

About Mike Birbiglia
Mike Birbiglia is a comedian, storyteller, director, podcaster, producer, and actor who has performed in front of audiences worldwide. His solo shows Sleepwalk With Me, My Girlfriend's Boyfriend, Thank God For Jokes, and The New One enjoyed successful Off Broadway runs and his most recent show, The New One moved to Broadway where he received the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Solo Performance. The New One and Thank God For Jokes became critically acclaimed Netflix specials. Birbiglia also wrote, directed and starred in the films Sleepwalk with Me and Don't Think Twice. His books, Sleepwalk with Me and Other Painfully True Stories and The New One are both National Bestsellers. He's appeared in the films Trainwreck, The Fault in Our Stars and Popstars as well as TV roles in Orange Is the New Black and Billions. He hosts a podcast, Mike Birbiglia's "Working It Out," and is currently touring with his newest show The Old Man and The Pool.

Directed by Seth Barrish, The Old Man and the Pool runs from April 28 - May 22, 2022 in Steppenwolf's Downstairs Theater.