Stand-up comedy at the Ahmanson? Say what?

Now before you rush to judgment, be aware that the stand-up comic in question is actor-director-producer-writer Mike Birbiglia and The New One, the show he’s now touring the country with, comes direct from a successful run on Broadway no less. In other words, if you can afford $35 to $145 per ticket, you won’t find eighty more entertaining, relatable, ultimately powerful minutes of solo-performance theater in town.

It helps enormously that Birbiglia is a master of the expertly timed punch line and The New One a master course in How To Score Laughs.

Still, to stretch a stand-up routine to at least ten times its normal length, you need more than just a series of masterful one-liners.

You need a storyline to hold it all together, and if the charmingly “ordinary” Birbiglia doesn’t immediately reveal the life adventure he’ll soon be embarking upon–he spends a good early chunk of the show riffing on couches in general and one in particular–once he brings up the subject of children–he informed his wife Jen in no uncertain terms while they were dating that he didn’t want any, by which she took it to mean “for now” while he meant “forever”–it’s clear exactly what that life adventure will be.

Birbiglia gives us seven reasons why he and fatherhood are a match made in hell, beginning with Reason Number One–a litany of life-threatening health issues no father would ever want to pass on to a child.

(Reason Number Four, “I have a cat,” may seem slightly less of a stumbling block, but those who think so haven’t owned a cat.)

Still, for a man who never ever wanted a child, the lengths to which Birbiglia ends up going to ensure that his not particularly energetic swimmers meet their target are beyond most men’s call of duty, and if Jen (whom he lovingly calls “Chlo” for reasons unknown) does the lioness’s share of the work once baby Oona is born … and then promptly refuses to sleep for the next year, she’s not the only one who suffers and sacrifices with a newborn in her life.

If it’s not already clear, Birbiglia has far more than eighty-minutes of jokes on his mind, and Ahmanson audiences are the richer for the stories he has to tell, ably aided and abetted by director Seth Barrish.

With the exception of one pretty exceptional surprise, scenic designer Beowulf Boritt keeps the set as simple as can be–it doesn’t get much simpler than a rug and a stool–though lighting designer Aaron Copp makes sure to keep things visually varied. (When Birbiglia recounts a youthful trip to Amsterdam’s red-light district, guess what color bathes Boritt’s set.) Leon Rothenberg’s expert sound design completes the mix, with Birbigilia’s “costume” presumably coming from his not-so-stylish closet.

The Big One features additional writing by Oona’s mom Jennifer Hope Stein. Ira Glass is executive producer. Joseph Birbiglia (Oona’s uncle) is associate producer. Jeff Norman is production stage manager.

As fans of Big Broadway Musicals await The Book Of Mormon’s Ahmanson debut in February (with Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake and Sting starring in The Last Ship arriving between now and then), The New One’s five-week visit reminds L.A. theatergoers that size doesn’t always matter. The New One is A Special One indeed.

Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N Grand Ave, Los Angeles.
www.CenterTheatreGroup.org

–Steven Stanley
October 25, 2019
Photos: Joan Marcus

Tags: Ahmanson Theatre, Center Theatre Group, Los Angeles Theater Review, Mike Birbiglia