The Center Theatre Group presents the world premiere of Mike Birbiglia: The Old Man and the Pool at the Mark Taper Forum
By John Lavitt
Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) August 8, 2022
Mike Birbiglia already has had a great theatrical run in Los Angeles. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, his award-winning Broadway show The New One made its West Coast premiere on the Ahmanson stage. Now, kind of post-pandemic, but who really knows (a Mike Birbiglia-like start to a joke, the comedian and storyteller returns to the Center Theatre Group. He takes the stage at the Mark Taper Forum until August 28th with a tale of life, death, and a highly chlorinated YMCA pool. Indeed, directed by Seth Barrish with care and precision, Mike Birbiglia: The Old Man and the Pool is a work of understated brilliance.
In his very own fashion that resembles the comedic brilliance of Patton Oswalt and the late Spaulding Gray, Mike Birbiglia chronicles a coming-of-middle-age story that faces down the big questions. Through the lens of comedic anecdotes and memories, he asks the questions that make us uncomfortable: Why are we here? What are we willing to sacrifice to live a long life? What happens when the strange items at your doctor’s office that you thought were decorative suddenly become functional?
What is so resonant and mighty about his presence is how his conversational, direct approach becomes so disarming. By making the audience laugh and reflect in the same moment, Mike Birbiglia provides access to an existential comedy club on the outskirts of purgatory. Suddenly, we question the most fundamental questions about ourselves and our lives. Thank God (but, Mike might ask, does he exist and what is she?) that we are laughing in the moment, able to transcend the prison where the bars are anxiety and the guards are fear.
As Mike Birbiglia would tell you, the past two years have been tough on all of us. In such times of estrangement and doubt, laughter is an anodyne to our worst instincts. By allowing us to join him on his middle-aged journey, ensuring we can keep up with the pace, Mike Birbiglia offers a rare night out of merriment and illumination.
As a final note that in no way should be viewed as a criticism but more of a reality, there is a question we will start asking in some of our reviews. Is Mike Birbiglia: The Old Man and the Pool a performance that provides access if English is your second language or third? Can you follow along with the narrative if your English is good but not necessarily great?
To realize an answer to this question, the actress Bruna Bertossi from São Paulo, Brazil, attended the show with this reviewer. Although she enjoyed the show, the deeper meanings were not quite accessible. As Bruna Bertossi explains, “Not being from this country, I could not pick up on all the cultural references. His show has such a dynamic flow, but I can’t really keep up with that flow. Once I fall out of his flow, it’s hard to get back into the pool.”
Thus, if English is not your first language, Mike Birbiglia: The Old Man and the Pool is probably not the best choice for a night out at the theatre. However, suppose English is your first language: In that case, there are very few shows that you will find this season that manage to be incredibly funny and incredibly incisive in the same incredible moment.