I was not familiar with the author and star of Mike Birbiglia’s The New One before this show was an off-Broadway hit last year prior to this transfer to Broadway. On a cold January evening, I decided to check out this comedian and see this performance before it closed. Spending time with Mike is warming to the soul. Should you pay Broadway prices? Debatable. Will you get to know Mike and feel entertained? Definitely.
Mr. Birbiglia is a couch potato. He loves the couch. It’s his favorite piece of furniture. You don’t just sit in it. The couch hugs you unlike the bed which indulgently requires a room to be named after it. Some of these jokes are simple and sweetly funny. Others take us to the prostitutes in Amsterdam where we hear about an embarrassing yet hilarious experience. After getting to know the self-described unremarkable man, we learn what this show is about. His wife, clearly the much better half, wants to have a baby. That’s the new one of the title.
Hearing a litany of shortcomings for this potential father and also his proclivity to eat pizza until he loses consciousness, Mike gives us a list of seven reasons why he should not be one. The comic monologue takes shape as we consider his sperm count and baby paraphernalia. There are laughs to be had. Parenting is really the woman’s domain. Based on personal observation and his own being, Mike’s opinion of the male half of the species is that they are generally useless.
The New One contains amusing material and is a very pleasant, short evening. When I opened the program, I saw that Beowulf Boritt (Tony winner for the stunning Act One) was the Set Designer. Mr. Boritt has now designed twenty Broadway shows, many of them quite complex. The set was cozy for sure (a nice rug and a stool) but why was he called in to do this? Late in the show, we find out and it’s a treat. The New One got its Broadway moment. Hopefully this show will be filmed for audiences to enjoy in the future, sitting on their couches and getting hugs.