'Mike Birbiglia: The Old Man and the Pool' to come to Broadway in October

The show will play the Vivian Beaumont Theater.

Gillian Russo
Gillian Russo

Mike Birbiglia is making a splash this fall! The comedian will return to Broadway in October with his latest solo show, The Old Man and the Pool. Birbiglia's show will run at the Vivian Beaumont Theater for a limited engagement, from October 28 to December 30. Opening night is November 13.

Mike Birbiglia: The Old Man and the Pool is a "coming-of-middle-age" show. Birbiglia discovers a family history of heart problems that's soon to affect him, and he starts to worry about his own mortality. Yet, he also insists on not doing the things that will help his condition — namely, swimming as a form of exercise. He unpacks the reasons why, like his bygone childhood trips to the YMCA pool, with humor.

Birbiglia first performed The Old Man and the Pool in Berkeley in January of this year, following it with runs in Chicago and Los Angeles. Seth Barrish directs, and the show includes contributions from Ira Glass, who has previously worked with Birbiglia on the podcast This American Life.

Birbiglia has been working as a comedian since the 2000s and has four filmed stand-up specials: What I Should Have Said Was Nothing: Tales From My Secret Public Journal, My Girlfriend's Boyfriend, Thank God for Jokes, and The New OneHe is also a writer, filmmaker, and actor who has adapted his breakout comedy show Sleepwalk With Me into a film; wrote, directed, and starred in the comedy film Don't Think Twice; and appeared on TV shows including Inside Amy Schumer, Orange Is the New Black, and Billions.

Birbiglia's last New York show was The New One, also directed by Barrish, which he debuted off Broadway at the Cherry Lane Theatre in 2018. The show got Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk Awards, and it transferred to Broadway for a two-month engagement later that year.

What shows has Mike Birbiglia starred in on Broadway?

Birbiglia has appeared on Broadway once before with The New One, his comedy show about becoming a father. The Old Man and the Pool is his second Broadway production. Birbiglia has also performed multiple shows off Broadway, like Sleepwalk with Me and My Girlfriend's Boyfriend, the latter of which won a Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Solo Show.

Get Mike Birbiglia: The Old Man and the Pool tickets now.

Photo credit: Mike Birbiglia in The Old Man and the Pool in Los Angeles. (Photo by Craig Schwartz Photography)

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